With February weather in generally miserable shape, the Washington Spirit continued the first phase of its preseason work Friday at Springfield’s sprawling behemoth of an indoor facility, The St. James. While the defending champions haven’t even had five full sessions on the grass, Friday’s practice had the focus and familiarity that most teams hope to see mid-season.
Here’s a breakdown of the news and notes from the field:
Call
Almost all the players under contract with the club could be seen somewhere during the session. Of the 26 players already registered, three were not on the pitch. Jordan Baggett (née DiBiasi) just returned from his honeymoon this week and was undergoing his physical entrance before joining team practices. The only absentees were Kumi Yokoyama and newcomer Alia Martin. According to the Spirit, Martin will join the team in the near future while sorting out his affairs and relocating, while Yokoyama’s absence has not been clarified.
That said, not all players were training at full speed. Ashleys Hatch and Sanchez practiced sideways, getting hit before jumping on exercise bikes. According to the team, both players are healthy and the decision was simply made taking into account load management. Hatch and Sanchez were part of the USWNT’s January camp, and both players were called up for the SheBelieves Cup later this month. The only other player to watch from the sidelines was Tori Huster, who is about three months into her rehabilitation process after suffering a torn Achilles tendon during the playoffs.
“Everyone who came in brought good energy, and I think that’s what happens when you have a champion team,” Hatch said after practice. Asked by reporters if she felt like the team now had a target on their backs, Hatch said the Spirit simply saw him as having “a higher level and higher expectation for ourselves” at the start of the season. the year.
“So far so good,” added goalkeeper Aubrey Kingsbury (the player formerly known as Aubrey Bledsoe). “I think we have more intensity than we did last year, so it’s a good start.” Kingsbury added that having less turnover on the roster and technical staff allows them to build from day one. “We know each other, so it’s like ‘Let’s go to work!'”
Happy to see you again
Bayley Feist and Averie Collins both missed last season with torn ACLs, but the duo have been training with no apparent restrictions. Collins was injured just days before the players were due for training camp, while Feist’s injury came at the start of last year’s Spirit pre-season final against a Sky Blue FC side which was days away from its name change to NJ/NY Gotham FC. During the playoffs, Feist was far enough into rehab to be able to sprint, cut, and do limited ball work in addition to Washington workouts. Collins, meanwhile, had to undergo a minor knee exam to clean up the scar tissue.
Both players add a new dimension to the Spirit’s attack. Feist looked set for a breakout season in his third year as a pro, and even started ahead of Trinity Rodman as the team toyed with the idea of playing a 3421 formation. Speaking after practice, Ward said noted that Feist “does so much for us, and we don’t have a similar replacement” for the 24-year-old versatile player who scored in a long, short game.
Collins, meanwhile, brings power and candor to the front line. With Ward mentioning a desire to be able to press teams more consistently higher up the pitch, and a roster full of players capable of delivering long-range passes from deep positions behind defences, she believes she is the kind of wildcard that the Spirit did. ‘t necessarily have to before last year.
While Baggett wasn’t training with the group, Ward made it a point to bring her back as well. Baggett played last year, playing three games at the start of the regular season, but his last game in uniform was the Aug. 7 1-0 loss to Portland at Segra Field. The offseason hip surgery was followed by at least one setback, and she spent the stretch race rehabilitating away from the team.
However, prior to her injury, Baggett was on the USWNT’s radar, and Ward hasn’t forgotten what she brings to the table. Referencing Baggett’s 2019 rookie season, Ward said: “She was the one who led the team in the pass that led to the assist. She was the best at breaking down the game for the team that way.
Make permanent
Lee Nguyen, a longtime MLS player with nine USMNT caps to his name, announced his retirement from professional football on Friday to become a full-time assistant with the Spirit. Last season, Nguyen – who initially joined Spirit on a short-term basis as his club side Ho Chi Minh City FC were on hiatus as Vietnam’s top flight halted play due to the pandemic – and Annie Worden were hired after the mid-season suspension (and eventual dismissal) of Richie Burke left the team with only Ward and goaltending coach Paul Crichton on the books. During the playoffs, Ward and several players noted adjustments in Nguyen’s play that helped the team move toward its first-ever championship.
Currently, the Spirit appear to be moving forward with a coaching staff consisting of Ward, Crichton and Nguyen. Washington concluded his session with a round of applause for Nguyen now that his move to training is official.
On the training side, the team hired full-time head athletic trainer Alessandro Ciarla and assistant athletic trainer Summer Jones. Last year, the pair joined the club mid-season but the arrangement involved contracting through Inova Health. Now both work directly for the Spirit, which means Washington players are fully focused.
Guardian glut? Good…
Washington raised eyebrows by signing former USWNT goaltender Nicole Barnhart just before the start of the preseason. With Kingsbury, Devon Kerr and Sydney Schneider all returning for this season, fans were quick to ask why the team would carry four goalkeepers. Not only that, but the Spirit then brought in former NC Courage GK Samantha Murphy for a pre-season tryout.
At the time, Washington’s rationale appeared to be based on international call-ups: Kingsbury received back-to-back invites to Vlatko Andonovski’s camp, a sign she climbed the USWNT depth chart after the goalkeeper season NWSL Goal of the Year last year. Schneider, meanwhile, has been called up regularly by Jamaica and is a frequent starter for the Reggae Girlz. As this is a World Cup qualifying year, both national teams should be busy.
However, there is an additional wrinkle that only serves to underscore the need for the move, which brings us to our next topic:
International calls
Ward said the Spirit will have 11 players leaving camp for national team call-ups during the February FIFA window, which begins next week. The USWNT will be responsible for most of that, with six players on the SheBelieves Cup roster and Trinity Rodman joining them as a practice player.
The other four are unconfirmed, but it’s not hard to deduce three:
- Jamaica have two CONCACAF Women’s Championship qualifiers, which are actually World Cup qualifiers. They will face Bermuda on February 17 and Grenada on February 20.
- Mexico are in the same boat, facing Suriname followed by Antigua and Barbuda on the same dates.
- Sweden are taking part in this year’s version of the Algarve Cup, which takes place February 18-23 in Portugal.
As discussed, Schneider has been called up whenever possible by Jamaica in recent years. Defender Karina Rodríguez is in a similar position for Mexico and could actually start due to the likely absence of centre-back Jocelyn Orejel. because of a broken nose). The story is the same for Julia Roddar and Sweden, whose place among the silver medalists seems very solid.
Don’t be surprised if those three bring the total number of starts next week to ten. So… how do we get to eleven? Let’s put this segment and the last segment together. We would need a player who hasn’t been a regular on his national team…and the Spirit felt their goalkeeper shortage was enough to sign a fourth player.
We know the USWNT didn’t recall Barnhart to add to his 54 selections, which brings us to Devon Kerr. Kerr is from Barrie, Ontario, but is eligible to represent Canada and the United States, and has played in both countries’ national youth team programs. Canada, meanwhile, is set to have an opening: Stéphanie Labbé has announced her retirement, which will arrive later this spring. The Canadiens still have Kailen Sheridan, Erin McLeod and Sabrina D’Angelo in their roster, but McLeod is 38, and having a three-man squad means there’s no serious competition to be called up.
I’m just saying, keep an eye out for Canada’s next roster.
rookie report
Three of the team’s five college draft picks were in attendance. The team previously announced that second-round pick Maddie Elwell would end the spring semester at Vanderbilt, while Steven Goff of The Washington Post reported last night that defenseman Jordan Thompson injured his knee during Thursday’s session, the team awaiting the results of an MRI.
Tinaya Alexander, Lucy Shepherd and Audrey Harding were all present, however, playing attacking roles in a 9v9 game played with a goal moved into midfield to compress space.
Much has been made of the Spirit’s 38-man pre-season roster, as no other team in the league intended to carry such a large squad. However, that day Murphy was the only trials rider present. Washington says the other seven trials riders will arrive next week.
