April 25, 2024 – National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL)
Washington Spirit News Release
Washington, D.C. – The Washington Spirit will face the Orlando Pride in both sides’ sixth match of the 2024 NWSL regular season. The match kicks off at 7:30 p.m. EDT at Audi Field in Washington, D.C. and will be broadcast locally on MNMT2. The match can also be streamed on NWSL+.
The Spirit
The Spirit enters the match having picked up four straight victories following the season opener’s loss at Seattle. Last match, the Spirit decisively defeated NJ/NY Gotham FC, 2-0, in a Black Out match at Audi Field, witnessed by a crowd of over 15,000 people, marking the fourth-largest crowd in Spirit history. The victory also signaled the team’s longest win streak since earning five straight victories from October 2021 to May 2022. The streak equals the longest single-season win streak in Spirit regular season history, matching the four-game win streak that culminated in the 2021 NWSL Championship.
Rookie Croix Bethune shined in the previous match and will look to keep the momentum going. She became the third player in Spirit history to score three goals in their first five appearances with the team, joining Mallory Swanson and Diana Matheson. Bethune’s goal enabled the Spirit to enter the second half with a lead, and the Spirit capitalized, extending its unbeaten streak when leading at the half to 21 regular season matches (dating back to October 2017). Currently sitting in second place on the NWSL table, the Spirit propelled itself to its best start since 2016.
Looking to Orlando, both teams enter the match garnering significant praise for recent form. All signs indicate Friday’s matchup will be an evenly contested one. This tracks historically, too: The all-time regular season series is split 6-6-6 through 18 games, with a goal differential of 0 (25-25).
Despite stringing together a seven-match unbeaten streak from August 2019 to July 2022, the Spirit got swept in last year’s regular season series against Orlando with a goal differential of -4 (1-5). The Spirit also has yet to pick up a win against the Pride since the 2021 Championship season.
A player to watch is Trinity Rodman. The 21-year-old forward leads the Spirit in shots (14) and shots on target (6) and is tied for the most assists (2). She also has created seven big chances this season, nearly double the next closest player (4) in the NWSL. Rodman has yet to find the back of the net this season but is certainly due for one…