It was difficult to know what to expect from the Washington Spirit at the beginning of the season. Clearly, the team needed some fresh ideas after their 2021 NWSL Championship victory by missing the playoffs in the next two seasons, setting themselves up for 2024 to be a rebuilding year on its own merits. Add to that the fact that their new high-profile head coach, Jonatan Giraldez, would not be introduced until the summer after completing his duties with Barcelona, and there was a lot of uncertainty over their hopes for 2024.
However, as the confetti fell on the Orlando Pride at CPKC Stadium in Kansas City, the Spirit could be disappointed that they did not emerge victorious in Saturday’s NWSL Championship. However, it’s hard not to look at their season and feel like the Spirit will be back chasing titles before too long.
The Spirit exceeded expectations over the course of the 2024 season, but only because they hit their stride sooner than many would have anticipated and not because they looked like an unfinished product. There were no dramatic changes to the team before this season, largely because there was no need: Trinity Rodman is a natural focal point for the team, but her connection with Ashley Hatch meant their attack needed complementary players rather than a complete reset. . Meanwhile, midfielder Andi Sullivan and goalkeeper Aubrey Kingsbury offered stability in their positions after years of solid service for the Spirit.
This season, however, they began to bring out the best in existing talents such as Ouleymata Sarr, who led the team with eight goals before being injured, and NWSL Defender of the Year contender Tara McKeown. Their mix-and-match approach to signings over the winter also meant the Spirit were building something promising. Veteran fullback Casey Krueger added a “win now” quality to the Spirit’s roster, as did Colombian international Leicy Santos. Most impressively, however, the Spirit fielded an impressive group of first-year players led by Rookie of the Year Croix Bethune, with Hal Hershfelt and Makenna Morris also excelling in their debut professional seasons.
The Spirit was able to show how deep their team is, albeit under less than ideal circumstances. A wide variety of players suffered injuries throughout the season, from Sarr to Sullivan to Bethune. Each seemed irreplaceable in their own right: Sarr was becoming a reliable scorer, while Bethune was a revelation with 10 assists in August and Sullivan was the team’s metronome. It should have been enough to diminish his qualities, but every player asked to step forward did just that. Hershfelt began to come into his own as Sullivan’s replacement, while the Spirit still managed to be one of the top three attacking teams in the NWSL despite missing Sarr and Bethune.
Giraldez has also adapted well to the Spirit, perhaps adjusting to their squad rather than instilling the Barcelona style of play that has defined his coaching career thus far. Whether or not he makes some tactical changes to adapt to the possession-oriented style that Barcelona are famous for is something to keep an eye on next season, although it offers a stark reminder that the Spirit are still in the early stages. stages of a new project.
There is still a lot more to see from this Spirit team, especially considering the injury crisis they faced at the end of the season. To some extent, the injury woes include Rodman, who admitted he played through the final months of the season with a nagging back injury that also aggravated during Saturday’s game. No doubt, the time to recover will serve you well, and the same goes for the Spirit as a whole.
This year’s run to the NWSL Championship simply adds punctuation to a stellar season that included a second-place finish in the regular season. The whole package shows that the foundation for the Spirit’s rebuild is solid, bolstered by the fact that they are a team that leans toward youth in some ways, even with its 32-year-old coach. It means they are easily one of the most exciting NWSL teams to watch in the coming years, when they will begin to truly define who they are under Giraldez and should live up to the promise they clearly showed this year.
