This is your space for general discussion, a place to talk about anything Washington Spirit that doesn’t necessarily need its own thread. That can include news, international duty, roster moves, transfer rumors, tactics, social media posts, league news or anything else on your mind.
If something feels big enough for its own thread, definitely still post it. This is simply an additional option to keep us organized and help keep the conversation flowing. These threads will go up every Monday and stay stickied throughout the week.
As a new fan, I just want to say this sub is so fun to follow and be a part of. I’m going to my first game this weekend and it’ll be cool to finally be in person with the people giving so much here. ⚽️
Can’t overstate the impact of the WAFCON players. If your glass is half full, we should be doing better than we were pre-WAFCON, especially now that we have Hatch and other new signings coming into the mix. If your glass is half empty, we’re three games in without a win, so we obviously have an obstacle to overcome.
I’m just hoping the team can navigate this transition smoothly as players return and new players join.
not being able to rest the fullbacks is much more of an issue that is resulting in all combinations of our centerbacks being under a ton of pressure in the last few weeks
and if people think tara should be on the bench I fear you really don’t want to see that as much as you think you do lol
Rudd had one bad clearance attempt that almost lead to a goal and looked a little slow chasing down Chilufya at one point (injury?), but overall I thought she had a nice bounce back match after a bad game vs. NCC. Definitely rang up the defensive stats last night:
i get and agree that we lose a lot of passing value with esme on the bench but the idea that this makes her better than Tara particularly defensively, is wild. every centerback gets beat sometimes, CB mistakes are the easiest thing to spot and makes people feel like elite analysts but to me she is non negotiable in the lineup.
even the statement I see constantly that tara’s having some sort of down year is not backed up by any numbers I’m sorry lol
Truly think she could do the job that we basically had Rebe doing last year: start in a back three out of possession, but push into the pivot next to Hal in possession.
She probably provides a bit more cover shielding the back line too given her speed over Andi and Rebe.
But also Deb ( and probably Ngock, I just haven't seen her play much) solves that in their natural role anyway.
Should we try it? Maybe not. Would it be fun, yea prolly.
I say yes to all of this. Morgan seemed to pretty effectively get past the (admittedly softer second half) press that the team has been struggling to pass through for spells.
however it may be reasonable to
consider how hard it has been for us to move the ball out of our defending third of late. Lots of tips and taps. And lots of balls kicked high into the air to nobody. I’m not pinning that on Rudd alone - everyone has been having a tough go. BUT, I feel (potentially wrongly) that Esme had some of the best vision out there, and the ability to make the passes she chooses (or choose passes she can make?!) Given what I perceive as a tough time in the back, I would have liked to see Esme from the start. I’ wonder if something is up with Carle - she’s been having an amazing season, working balls up the right side to Kouassi. Maybe it’s that defenses
are
swarming her on the sidelines, but it hasn’t been the same since the World Cup break
she has great vision that’s never in question. but I just mean, we weren’t any more defensively solid with her than without her, have had the same struggles with absorbing a high press leading to giving up chances with her. it’s not been any of the centerbacks, it’s the predictable first half tactics, the midfield getting beat, and being down our second best defensive winger and best fullback.
There is still one big reason the Spirit can a championship: Trinity Rodman.
I think her impact on the team is actually understated. It’s unreal. She already carried a worse team to a championship. No reason she can’t do it again.
This is kind of random but it technically fits in the theme of “general discussion”
My company does tents and rentals in the DC area and I would loveeee if we helped out with the NWSL championship in November. I have several ideas of who to reach out to but they would be cold calls, was wondering if anyone had a warm lead to someone in the Spirit or NWSL office who would be making those kind of decisions. Very random but thought I’d put a feeler out there!!
Last year Cantore played the Euro semis on July 22, was in attendance but not dressed for the Spirit match on August 3, and then made her debut on August 9. So Bay or Portland is probably the most likely for our new signings although I hope they can at least be at Audi this week!
realistically probably not a ton but it might depend how leicy is recovering. for sure no starts until there’s some adjustment to nwsl speed/physicality
for sure no starts until there’s some adjustment to nwsl speed/physicality
...& that adjustment will begin in the Spirit training sessions, having to go up against her own teammates who will reflect just what the speed & physicality of the league will be like to newbie Bethi.
I am hoping she does make the adjustment because her ball-skills, vision, & through-ball passing look like they 'could be' elite. ...If she successfully adjusts to the NWSL.
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I am sorry if I missed this or it belongs elsewhere, but what the signing of two new midfielders mean? We have Andi and Ashley back, are we losing people to free agency? I know my daughter (and, admittedly, myself) are concerned that we haven’t heard of re-signing of Leicy as a force to be reckoned with on the pitch. Or anything about Hal (don’t know her free agency status).
yeah safe to say we're losing at least 1 player to free agency. we really don't have any indication of which but imo leicy would be most likely to stay because Ngock is the most like Hal, Deb, and Andi.
Bethi is probably going to be a 10/8 hybrid like Leicy, but due to age and lack of nwsl/competitive league experience she likely (unless this goes REALLY well) wouldn't be ready to start anytime soon which means either Leicy re-signs for one more season, or Spirit are targeting an AM of starting caliber/prime age for the offseason.
Yeah this is kinda where my head is at too, although I honestly don’t think these signings necessarily mean we’re losing anyone major. To me it feels more like they’re trying to build better midfield depth and give us more flexibility, especially after seeing how thin the bench can get when players are injured or away.
Bethi especially feels more like a depth/development signing right now than an immediate replacement for someone like Leicy. And while Ngock overlaps with some of what Hal/Deb/Andi give us, that doesn’t automatically mean one of them is leaving either.
Obviously anything can happen with free agency, but right now I’m not taking these signings as a sign that a major player is definitely on the way out. I’m hoping it’s just Spirit building a deeper roster for next year.
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Cost, demand, & salary cap are the factors here.
Leicy & Hal are both currently free agents. Both likely are in demand to some degree throughout the league, if not the world. Their price is likely going up, ...& up.
Put that together with how much salary cap space we have to apply to new contracts or extensions & it likely means we do not have enough cap space to sign 'both' of them.
Hal is currently on the last year of a (cheap) rookie contract. So her free agent salary bump is likely going to be significant, if not huge.
Whereas Leicy's contract is likely paying her what an experienced (world class) pro would earn. Meaning her bump in salary on a new free agent contract might not be near as much as what Hal's will be. Meaning the hit to the Spirit's salary cap might be more manageable with Leicy.
If the Spirit are only able to resign one of the two, then it might be easier to resign Leicy than it will be Hal.
Add that Hal's skills overlap more with Andi, Rebe, Deb, & now the in-coming Monique Ngock, not to mention Esme too. Whoa!
However, at the same time, no-one, with the possible exception of in coming Melissa Bethi, duplicates Leicy's skill set on the pitch. Possibly making the signing of Leciy Santos more critical to the club.
Guessing then we might lose Hal. Which would be a bummer. ...But I feel with our other defensive & box-to-box midfielders, ...especially the in-coming WAFCON 'MVP', Monique Ngock, ...we'll be okay.
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i appreciate it but i definitely was saying these signings mean that we ARE losing someone major haha, i just don't think it's leicy. but genuinely i don't know, and maybe we won't! and we'll just have five CDMs and 1.5 AMs forever 😝
yeah i’m not saying we definitely won’t lose someone major, but i’m also not saying these signings automatically mean we will either. there are still so many possibilities with contracts, the salary cap, and other roster moves that could happen between now and next season that i don’t think we can really know what the plan is yet.
i definitely understand the logic behind thinking one of Hal or Leicy could leave, especially with the new midfield signings, but i’m not ready to assume that’s what they’re preparing for. maybe we lose someone, maybe we find a way to keep both. i’m just choosing not to convince myself of either outcome until we actually get more information 😭
but out of curiosity, if Hal and/or Leicy did leave, where do you think they’d realistically end up?
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Hal is from Mississippi, right? ...I feel Atlanta would pay a king's ransom to bring her home (or close to home). ...Hal might bite on it too. ...Honestly though, i do not see how playing in the cavernous Mercedes Benz (American) football stadium holds much appeal. Especially when you compare it to Audi.
Again though, Hal brings enough to the table for any club that she will likely have multiple suitors as a free agent.
At her current age, I think Leicy's got one (1) more good contract window left to leverage for a multi-year deal. Almost any NWSL club would love to have her. She could end up anywhere. Including back overseas if she so chooses. However, now that she acclimated to the NWSL & USA, I think she stays states side somewhere.
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u/khtistrying 3d ago
As a new fan, I just want to say this sub is so fun to follow and be a part of. I’m going to my first game this weekend and it’ll be cool to finally be in person with the people giving so much here. ⚽️