Mar 23, 2024; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Washington Spirit midfielder Croix Bethune (7) celebrates scoring a goal with teammates during the second half against Bay FC at Audi Field. Mandatory Credit: Amber Searls-USA TODAY Sports
In the 2024 home opener on a breezy Saturday night, the Washington Spirit defeated expansion side, Bay FC, 2-1 in front of a season opener record 11,734 fans. After conceding in the 11th minute to former Spirit stalwart Dorian Bailey, the Spirit dominated the chances for the rest of the match. In stoppage time and after a handful of promising chances, Ashley Hatch backheeled Croix Bethune in on goal and Bethune slotted calmly past a hopeless Lysianne Proulx.
Quick Hits
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The Good: Hal Hershfelt, the 2024 5th overall pick in the NWSL Draft, introduced herself the Spirit home crowd in dominating fashion, scoring a goal in the first half and popping up all over the field to spring attacks and fill gaps in defense. Another Spirit draftee, Croix Bethune, provided a spark in the attack with her passing and supporting runs. She hit the crossbar in the second half and threatened the goal all night culminating in a stoppage time winner. These two draftees are making Mark Krikorian look very smart in the second game of the season.
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The Not So Good: In the first half, the Spirit defense was struggling mightily in transition situations and anytime Asisat Oshoala touched the ball in and around the Spirit 18 yard box. It will be interesting to see this team handle a team who is more clinical in their finishing.
Ashley Hatch was playing as a 9, as a winger and as part of a midfield three at different times throughout. She was forced to move as a result of Ouley Sarr finding it challenging to get on the ball on the wing and just a desire to control the ball a little more. Interim Manager Adrian Gonzalez also mentioned the intention to have players comfortable in multiple positions as a reason why Hatch played on the LW, Sarr played as a 9 and Carle played on the right after playing on the left all last season. Sarr only managed one shot on target, with three not finding the frame. She was 0/2 on successful dribbles, 1 out of 3 on accurate crosses, and only had 5 touches in the opposition’s box. Gonzalez will have to figure out how to manage the forwards and get Sarr going.
Casey Krueger was having an uneven first half until she ran face first into the truck that is Hal Hershfelt. In the postgame press conference, Adrian Gonzalez said that Krueger did not suffer a concussion but potentially has a facial fracture. That will be something to watch going forward, but thankfully the club have Anna Heilferty ready to deputize if needed.
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Turning Point: After the equalizer by Hershfelt, the game was tilted towards the Bay FC net. While we wait for the xG map tomorrow, the Spirit had the majority of the chances especially in the last 15 minutes.
Croix Bethune was consistently driving towards the net, creating 3 chances on the night, hitting the crossbar and of course, scoring the winner. After the first 20 minutes where Dorian Bailey and Asisat Oshoala were shredding the Spirit defense, the defense tightened up in the back and the forward pressure on Bay FC’s back line resulted in a number of turnovers and chances generated.
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Player Spotlight: While Trinity Rodman made her triumphant return to the Spirit lineup after sitting out last week serving a red card suspension, the rookie pairing of Hershfelt and Bethune have to be the players of the match. (Although…in any other game, Rodman’s creation and confrontation stats would do it. She was a machine).
Hershfelt is in the early days of her partnership with Andi Sullivan and Sullivan was quick to point out that there are major areas to improve, but if Hershfelt continues to grow in her confidence and can produce more games like this, the Spirit midfield is in good hands. The Spirit haven’t had a pairing that looked this impressive patrolling the field since two years ago when Dorian Bailey and Jordan Baggett (pre-injury) were paired up with Sullivan to win seemingly every ball.
Hershfelt was 48/59 with her passing, ⅗ on long balls, not dispossessed once, and had four passes into the final third. She can improve on her confrontations, only winning 2 of 7 ground duels and being dribbled passed three times, but with her physical size and strength, her improvement seems like a smart bet to make.
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Looking Ahead: Through 2 games, the Spirit now sit in 5th on goal difference. They are back in action on Easter Sunday against “expansion” side Utah Royals. This should be an interesting matchup as the Royals beat North Carolina on Friday night with the most absurd statistical difference I’ve seen in a while. As Jason Anderson points out, Utah is set out to be a “win without the ball” type of team and with the Spirit intending to control more of the possession and play out of the back, it could be a case of two team’s strengths clashing.
Final Thoughts: This was as exciting a match as the Seattle match the previous week was dire. The Spirit remain a work in progress and with rumored attacking additions in bound in the summer, this team could absolutely figure things out at the right time to be a dangerous team in the run up. It will be important for young players such as Hershfelt, Bethune and new players like Brittany Ratcliffe and Casey Krueger to continue to chip in each game to take pressure off of Ashley Hatch and Trinity Rodman in the attack. The defense still feels like it could afford some reinforcement in the middle and the playing out of the back every possession still feels rickety and perilous, but this team showed major glimpses of promise on Saturday night in Washington DC.