2024 Washington Spirit season

Washington Spirit
2024 season
OwnerY. Michele Kang
General managerMark Krikorian
Head coachJonatan Giráldez (since June)
Adrián González (interim, until June)
StadiumAudi Field
(capacity: 20,000)
League2nd
2024 NWSL x Liga MX Femenil Summer CupGroup stage
PlayoffsRunners-up
Top goalscorerTrinity Rodman, Ouleymata Sarr (8)
Highest home attendance19,897
(Jun 15 vs. SD)
Lowest home attendance8,182
(Mar 31 vs. UTA)
Average home league attendance13,934
Biggest win3 goals
(4 times)
Biggest defeat0–3
(Sep 20 vs. KC)
← 2023
2025 →
All statistics correct as of November 16, 2024.

The 2024 Washington Spirit season is the team's twelfth season as a professional women's soccer team. The Spirit play in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL), the top tier of women's soccer in the United States.

Background

[edit]
See also: 2023 Washington Spirit season

The Spirit finished the 2023 National Women's Soccer League season in 8th place of 12 teams. The top six teams qualified for the NWSL playoffs, and the Spirit ended one point out of playoff contention. On October 17, 2023, two days following the team's final defeat against North Carolina Courage, the team released head coach Mark Parsons from his duties after one season.[1][2]

Hirings

[edit]
Jonatan Giráldez joined the Washington Spirit as head coach in June 2024.

On January 9, 2024, the Spirit announced the hiring of FC Barcelona Femení manager Jonatan Giráldez as the club's head coach, to arrive in June following the conclusion of the 2023–24 UEFA Women's Champions League, which Barcelona won. Adrián González, formerly manager of RCD Espanyol Femení, served as interim head coach until Giráldez's arrival and remained with the staff as an assistant coach.[3][4]

Summary

[edit]

Stadium and facilities

[edit]

The Spirit continued to play in Audi Field, their full-time home since the team's 2022 season, and trained at the United Performance Center in Leesburg, Virginia, a facility shared with D.C. United, D.C. United's youth academy, and Loudoun United FC.[5][6]

Broadcasting

[edit]

In addition to the league's national and international broadcast agreements, ten Spirit matches of the 2024 season aired on the regional Monumental Sports Network.[7]

Team

[edit]

Staff

[edit]
As of October 21, 2024.[8][9]
Sporting operations staff
General manager
President of soccer operations 		Mark Krikorian
Senior director of soccer administration Nathan Minion
Sporting staff
Head coach Jonatan Giráldez
Assistant coach Adrián González
Assistant coach
Director of player personnel 		Mike Bristol
Player development coach Morinao Imaizumi
Assistant coach
Player development coach 		Mami Yamaguchi
Performance staff
Vice president of performance,
medical, and innovation 		Dawn Scott
Director of performance and innovation Kirsty Hicks
Director of data and analytics Seungbeum Lee
Director of medical Eric Marchek
Head athletic trainer Alessandro Ciarla

Players

[edit]
As of August 24, 2024[10][11]
No. Pos. Player Nation
1 GK Aubrey Kingsbury (Captain)  United States
2 FW Trinity Rodman  United States
3 DF Casey Krueger  United States
4 FW Lena Silano  United States
5 DF Annaïg Butel  France
6 DF Kate Wiesner  United States
7 MF Croix Bethune  United States
8 MF Makenna Morris  United States
9 DF Tara McKeown  United States
10 MF Leicy Santos  Colombia
11 FW Ouleymata Sarr  France
12 MF Andi Sullivan  United States
13 FW Brittany Ratcliffe  United States
14 DF Gabby Carle  Canada
16 MF Courtney Brown  United States
17 MF Hal Hershfelt  United States
18 GK Lyza Bosselmann  United States
19 FW Rosemonde Kouassi  Ivory Coast
20 FW Civana Kuhlmann  United States
21 DF Anna Heilferty  United States
22 MF Heather Stainbrook  United States
24 DF Esme Morgan  England
26 MF Paige Metayer  United States
28 GK Nicole Barnhart  United States
31 GK Kaylie Collins  United States
32 DF Jenna Butler  United States
33 FW Ashley Hatch  United States
35 DF Waniya Hudson  United States
39 FW Chloe Ricketts  United States

Competitions

[edit]

  Win   Draw   Loss

Regular season

[edit]
Main article: 2024 National Women's Soccer League season

Standings

[edit]
Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Orlando Pride (C, S) 26 18 6 2 46 20 +26 60 NWSL Shield, playoffs
2 Washington Spirit 26 18 2 6 51 28 +23 56 Playoffs
3 NJ/NY Gotham FC 26 17 5 4 41 20 +21 56
4 Kansas City Current 26 16 7 3 57 31 +26 55
5 North Carolina Courage 26 12 3 11 34 28 +6 39
Source: NWSL
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers
(C) Champions; (S) NWSL Shield

Results summary

[edit]
Overall Home Away
Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts W D L GF GA GD W D L GF GA GD
26 18 2 6 51 28  +23 56 10 1 2 31 14  +17 8 1 4 20 14  +6

Last updated: November 2, 2024.
Source: NWSLsoccer.com

Matches

[edit]
March 17, 2024 (2024-03-17) 1 Seattle Reign FC 1–0 Washington Spirit Seattle, Washington
3:00 p.m. PDT (UTC-7)
  • Balcer 3' (pen.)
 Report
Stadium: Lumen Field
Attendance: 8,557
Referee: Natalie Simon (Florida)
March 23, 2024 (2024-03-23) 2 Washington Spirit 2–1 Bay FC Washington, D.C.
7:30 p.m. EDT (UTC-5)
Report
Stadium: Audi Field
Attendance: 11,734
Referee: Danielle Chesky (Virginia)
March 31, 2024 (2024-03-31) 3 Washington Spirit 2–1 Utah Royals Washington, D.C.
1:00 p.m. EDT (UTC-5)
Report
Stadium: Audi Field
Attendance: 8,182
Referee: Nabil Bensalah (Indiana)
April 12, 2024 (2024-04-12) 4 Houston Dash 1–3 Washington Spirit Houston, Texas
7:00 p.m. CDT (UTC-5)
Report
Stadium: Shell Energy Stadium
Attendance: 7,767
Referee: Alyssa Nichols (Mississippi)
April 20, 2024 (2024-04-20) 5 Washington Spirit 2–0 NJ/NY Gotham FC Washington, D.C.
1:00 p.m. EDT (UTC-5)
Report
Stadium: Audi Field
Attendance: 15,004
Referee: Katja Koroleva (California)
April 26, 2024 (2024-04-26) 6 Washington Spirit 2–3 Orlando Pride Washington, D.C.
7:30 p.m. EDT (UTC-5)
Report
Stadium: Audi Field
Attendance: 11,636
Referee: Rebecca Pagan (Illinois)
May 1, 2024 (2024-05-01) 7 Chicago Red Stars 2–4 Washington Spirit Bridgeview, Illinois
7:00 p.m. CDT (UTC-5)
Report
Stadium: SeatGeek Stadium
Attendance: 2,999
Referee: Alex Billeter (Florida)
May 4, 2024 (2024-05-04) 8 Portland Thorns FC 2–1 Washington Spirit Portland, Oregon
7:00 p.m. PDT (UTC-7)
Report
Stadium: Providence Park
Attendance: 17,039
Referee: Elvis Osmanovic (Florida)
May 10, 2024 (2024-05-10) 9 Racing Louisville FC 1–2 Washington Spirit Louisville, Kentucky
8:00 p.m. EDT (UTC-5)
Report
Stadium: Lynn Family Stadium
Attendance: 6,222
Referee: Shawn Tehini (North Carolina)
May 18, 2024 (2024-05-18) 10 Washington Spirit 4–2 Angel City FC Washington, D.C.
7:30 p.m. EDT (UTC-5)
Report
Stadium: Audi Field
Attendance: 13,342
Referee: Anya Voigt (Florida)
May 24, 2024 (2024-05-24) 11 Washington Spirit 3–2 Seattle Reign FC Washington, D.C.
7:30 p.m. EDT (UTC-5)
Report
Stadium: Audi Field
Attendance: 11,551
Referee: Joshua Encarnación (Pennsylvania)
June 8, 2024 (2024-06-08) 12 Utah Royals 0–1 Washington Spirit Sandy, Utah
5:30 p.m. MDT (UTC-6)
Report
Stadium: America First Field
Attendance: 8,486
Referee: Laura Rodriguez (Colorado)
June 15, 2024 (2024-06-15) 13 Washington Spirit 1–1 San Diego Wave FC Washington, D.C.
7:30 p.m. EDT (UTC-5)
Report
Stadium: Audi Field
Attendance: 19,897
Referee: Katja Koroleva (California)
June 23, 2024 (2024-06-23) 14 NJ/NY Gotham FC 0–2 Washington Spirit Harrison, New Jersey
6:00 p.m. EDT (UTC-5)
Report
Stadium: Red Bull Arena
Attendance: 8,396
Referee: Jeremy Scheer (Connecticut)
June 29, 2024 (2024-06-29) 15 Washington Spirit 0–1 North Carolina Courage Washington, D.C.
7:30 p.m. EDT (UTC-5)
Report
Stadium: Audi Field
Attendance: 15,717
Referee: Rebecca Pagan (Illinois)
July 6, 2024 (2024-07-06) 16 Bay FC 0–3 Washington Spirit San Jose, California
7:00 p.m. PDT (UTC-7)
Report
Stadium: PayPal Park
Attendance: 11,384
Referee: Matthew Corrigan (Oklahoma)
Note: First match led by head coach Jonatan Giráldez.[12]
August 25, 2024 (2024-08-25) 17 Washington Spirit 4–1 Kansas City Current Washington, D.C.
12:00 p.m. EDT (UTC-5)
Report
Stadium: Audi Field
Attendance: 17,130
Referee: Brad Jensen (Utah)
September 1, 2024 (2024-09-01) 18 San Diego Wave FC 1–1 Washington Spirit San Diego, California
5:00 p.m. PDT (UTC-7)
Report
Stadium: Snapdragon Stadium
Attendance: 23,541
Referee: Joshua Encarnación (Pennsylvania)
September 7, 2024 (2024-09-07) 19 Washington Spirit 2–1 Portland Thorns FC Washington, D.C.
12:30 p.m. EDT (UTC-5)
Report
Stadium: Audi Field
Attendance: 14,306
Referee: Greg Dopka (Illinois)
September 15, 2024 (2024-09-15) 20 Washington Spirit 3–0 Houston Dash Washington, D.C.
1:00 p.m. EDT (UTC-5)
Report
Stadium: Audi Field
Attendance: 11,792
Referee: Mathew Corrigan (Oklahoma)
September 20, 2024 (2024-09-20) 21 Kansas City Current 3–0 Washington Spirit Kansas City, Missouri
7:00 p.m. CDT (UTC-5)
Report
Stadium: CPKC Stadium
Attendance: 11,500
Referee: Matthew Thompson (Mississippi)
September 27, 2024 (2024-09-27) 22 Angel City FC 1–2 Washington Spirit Los Angeles, California
7:00 p.m. PDT (UTC-7)
Report
Stadium: BMO Stadium
Attendance: 19,257
Referee: Alyssa Nichols (Mississippi)
October 6, 2024 (2024-10-06) 23 Orlando Pride 2–0 Washington Spirit Orlando, Florida
5:00 p.m. EDT (UTC-5)
Report
Stadium: Inter&Co Stadium
Attendance: 7,729
Referee: Danielle Chesky (Virginia)
October 13, 2024 (2024-10-13) 24 Washington Spirit 4–1 Racing Louisville FC Washington, D.C.
5:00 p.m. EDT (UTC-5)
Report
Stadium: Audi Field
Attendance: 13,781
Referee: Abdou Ndiaye (Louisiana)
October 20, 2024 (2024-10-20) 25 Washington Spirit 2–0 Chicago Red Stars Washington, D.C.
5:00 p.m. EDT (UTC-5)
Report
Stadium: Audi Field
Attendance: 17,065
Referee: Adam Kilpatrick (Massachusetts)
November 2, 2024 (2024-11-02) 26 North Carolina Courage 0–1 Washington Spirit Cary, North Carolina
7:30 p.m. EDT (UTC-5) Report
Stadium: WakeMed Soccer Park
Attendance: 10,026
Referee: Elvis Osmanovic (Florida)

Results by matchday

[edit]
Matchday1234567891011121314151617181920212223242526
StadiumAHHAHHAAAHHAHAHAHAHHAAAHHA
ResultLWWWWLWLWWWWDWLWWDWWLWLWWW
Position126432333333333322222222222
Updated to match(es) played on November 2, 2024. Source: NWSL
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

Playoffs

[edit]
Main article: 2024 National Women's Soccer League season § Playoffs

The Spirit finished the regular season in 2nd place and qualified for the NWSL playoffs as the second-seeded of eight teams.

Matches

[edit]
November 10, 2024 (2024-11-10) Quarterfinals Washington Spirit 2–1 (a.e.t.) Bay FC Washington, District of Columbia
12:30 p.m. EST (UTC−5)
Report
Stadium: Audi Field
Attendance: 19,215
Referee: Katja Koroleva (California)
November 16, 2024 (2024-11-16) Semifinals Washington Spirit 1–1 (a.e.t.)
(3–0 p)		 NJ/NY Gotham FC Washington, District of Columbia
12:00 p.m. EST (UTC−5)
Report
Stadium: Audi Field
Attendance: 19,365
Referee: Matthew Thompson (Mississippi)
Penalties
November 23, 2024 (2024-11-23) Championship Orlando Pride v Washington Spirit Kansas City, Missouri
8:00 p.m. EST (UTC−5) Report Stadium: CPKC Stadium

NWSL x Liga MX Femenil Summer Cup

[edit]
Main article: 2024 NWSL x Liga MX Femenil Summer Cup

The Spirit finished last in Group D of the Summer Cup and failed to advance to the tournament knockout stage.

Group stage standings

[edit]
Main article: 2024 NWSL x Liga MX Femenil Summer Cup group stage

Pos Team
 Pld W PW PL L GF GA GD Pts Qualification NYJ CHI WAS GUA
1 United States NJ/NY Gotham FC 3 2 1 0 0 4 0 +4 8 Advances to knockout stage — 0–0 1–0 3–0
2 United States Chicago Red Stars 3 1 0 1 1 3 3 0 4 0–0 — 3–2 0–1
3 United States Washington Spirit 3 1 0 0 2 4 5 −1 3 0–1 2–3 — 2–1
4 Mexico Guadalajara 3 1 0 0 2 2 5 −3 3 0–3 1–0 1–2 —
Source: NWSL
Rules for classification: tiebreakers

Group stage matches

[edit]
July 21, 2024 (2024-07-21) Washington Spirit 2–1 Guadalajara Chester, United States
4:30 p.m.
Report
Stadium: Subaru Park
Attendance: 1,101
July 28, 2024 (2024-07-28) NJ/NY Gotham FC 1–0 Washington Spirit Chester, United States
6:00 p.m.
Report Stadium: Subaru Park
Attendance: 3,523
Referee: Sergii Demianchuk
July 31, 2024 (2024-07-31) Washington Spirit 2–3 Chicago Red Stars Richmond, United States
7:30 p.m.
Report
Stadium: City Stadium
Referee: Melinda Homa

Statistics

[edit]

Awards

[edit]
As of November 19, 2024

NWSL annual awards

[edit]
Main article: NWSL awards

NWSL monthly awards

[edit]
Best XI of the Month
Month Pos. Nat. Player Ref.
March/
April 		DF United States USA Casey Krueger [15]
MF United States USA Croix Bethune
May DF United States USA Croix Bethune (2) [16]
FW France FRA Ouleymata Sarr
June DF United States USA Casey Krueger (2) [17]
MF United States USA Croix Bethune (3)
September FW United States USA Trinity Rodman [18]
October/
November 		FW United States USA Makenna Morris [19]

Rookie of the Month

[edit]
NWSL Rookie of the Month
Month Pos. Rookie of the Month Statline Ref.
March/April
MF
 United States USA Croix Bethune Led rookies with 3 goals, 2 assists in 5 matches [20]
May 1 goal, 7 assists in 5 matches; set rookie record for assists in a season; first rookie to score 3 assists in a match [21]
June 1 goal, 1 assist; first rookie to win award in three consecutive months [22]
August 1 assist, tying all-time record for assists in a season; first rookie to win award four times in one season [23]
October/November
FW
 United States USA Makenna Morris 3 goals, 1 assist; brace vs. LOU was only multi-goal match for a rookie during the season [24]

NWSL weekly awards

[edit]

Weekly awards

[edit]
NWSL Goal of the Week
Week Winner Ref.
12 United States Croix Bethune [25]
13 United States Trinity Rodman [26]
19 United States Trinity Rodman (2) [27]
NWSL Save of the Week
Week Winner Ref.
3 United States Aubrey Kingsbury [28]
21 United States Aubrey Kingsbury (2) [29]

Transactions

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Diamond, Drew (October 18, 2023). "Washington Spirit sack Mark Parsons after second stint in charge". Her Football Hub. Archived from the original on October 24, 2023. Retrieved October 23, 2023.
  2. ^ "Head Coach Mark Parsons Will Not Return to Washington Spirit for 2024 Season" (Press release). Washington Spirit. October 17, 2023. Archived from the original on October 17, 2023. Retrieved October 20, 2023.
  3. ^ Floyd, Thomas (June 28, 2024). "Jonatan Giráldez built his life around soccer. Now he's a coaching prodigy". The Washington Post. Retrieved October 21, 2024.
  4. ^ "Washington Spirit Names FC Barcelona Femení's Jonatan Giráldez Costas New Head Coach" (Press release). Washington Spirit. January 9, 2024. Archived from the original on January 9, 2024. Retrieved October 21, 2024.
  5. ^ Fleming, Margaret (March 17, 2024). "The Washington Spirit are ready to move forward". The Equalizer. Retrieved May 26, 2024.
  6. ^ "Washington Spirit to play 2020 games at Audi Field, Segra Field and the Maryland SoccerPlex" (Press release). Washington Spirit. November 12, 2019. Archived from the original on November 18, 2019. Retrieved November 14, 2019.
  7. ^ "Monumental Sports Network & Washington Spirit Announce Regional Broadcast Partnership for 2024 Season". March 8, 2024.
  8. ^ "Front Office". Washington Spirit. Retrieved May 12, 2024.
  9. ^ "Sporting Staff". Washington Spirit. Retrieved October 21, 2024.
  10. ^ "Roster – Washington Spirit". Washington Spirit. Archived from the original on May 13, 2020. Retrieved July 6, 2023.
  11. ^ "Washington Spirit Announces 24-Player Roster Ahead of Season Kickoff". Washington Spirit. March 13, 2024.
  12. ^ Schreiber, Julie (July 9, 2024). "Rookies continue to define Spirit season". The Equalizer. Retrieved October 22, 2024.
  13. ^ "Washington Spirit Midfielder Croix Bethune Named 2024 NWSL Rookie Of The Year, Presented By Ally Financial" (Press release). National Women's Soccer League. November 19, 2024. Retrieved November 19, 2024.
  14. ^ a b "NWSL Announces Winners of 2024 NWSL Best XI Awards, presented by Amazon Prime" (Press release). National Women's Soccer League. November 18, 2024. Retrieved November 18, 2024.
  15. ^ "NWSL Announces March/April Best XI of the Month, Presented by Amazon Prime" (Press release). National Women's Soccer League. May 7, 2024. Retrieved May 7, 2024.
  16. ^ "NWSL Announces May Best XI of the Month, Presented by Amazon Prime" (Press release). National Women's Soccer League. June 7, 2024. Retrieved June 7, 2024.
  17. ^ "NWSL Announces June Best XI of the Month, Presented by Amazon Prime" (Press release). National Women's Soccer League. July 12, 2024. Retrieved July 12, 2024.
  18. ^ "NWSL Announces September Best XI of the Month, presented by Amazon Prime" (Press release). National Women's Soccer League. October 4, 2024. Retrieved October 4, 2024.
  19. ^ "NWSL Announces October and November Best XI of the Month, presented by Amazon Prime" (Press release). National Women's Soccer League. November 8, 2024. Retrieved November 8, 2024.
  20. ^ "Washington Spirit Midfielder Croix Bethune Named March/April Rookie of the Month, Presented by Ally" (Press release). National Women's Soccer League. May 7, 2024. Retrieved May 7, 2024.
  21. ^ "Washington Spirit Midfielder Croix Bethune Named May Rookie of the Month, Presented by Ally" (Press release). National Women's Soccer League. June 6, 2024. Retrieved June 6, 2024.
  22. ^ "Washington Spirit Midfielder Croix Bethune Named June's NWSL Rookie of the Month, Presented by Ally" (Press release). Washington Spirit. July 11, 2024. Retrieved July 11, 2024.
  23. ^ "Washington Spirit Midfielder Croix Bethune Named August Rookie of the Month, Presented by Ally" (Press release). National Women's Soccer League. September 5, 2024. Retrieved September 5, 2024.
  24. ^ "Washington Spirit Forward Makenna Morris Named October and November Rookie of the Month, presented by Ally" (Press release). National Women's Soccer League. November 7, 2024. Retrieved November 7, 2024.
  25. ^ National Women's Soccer League [@NWSL] (June 18, 2024). "WHAT CAN'T SHE DO, SHE'S CROIX BETHUNE ‼️" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  26. ^ National Women's Soccer League [@NWSL] (June 25, 2024). "Trinity Rodman's rocket of a finish wins her Goal of the Week!!! 🫡" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  27. ^ National Women's Soccer League [@NWSL] (September 18, 2024). "Trin Spin ➡️ Upper 90 finish 🤯" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  28. ^ National Women's Soccer League [@NWSL] (April 2, 2024). "Not just 1 but TWO big saves from Aubrey Kingsbury" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  29. ^ National Women's Soccer League [@NWSL] (October 1, 2024). "DENIED BY KINGSBURY ❌" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
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