The 2024 NWSL season begins tomorrow, and despite what feels like the shortest offseason of all time, the Washington Spirit playing their first match on Sunday will look pretty different from the team that last took the field. They’ll kick off their extended 26-match season with a lot of new faces, a new style of play, and even a new color scheme.

To help get you up to speed, here are André and Annie’s thoughts on what happened in the offseason and what to expect from the Spirit’s 2024 season.

Offseason departures

The Spirit front office started big changes off early when they announced the departure of head coach Mark Parsons just two days after the final game of 2023. Although he started the season talking about his tenure with the Spirit as a long-term project, Parsons’s fate was sealed after the team lost their Decision Day battle with North Carolina Courage and failed to qualify for a playoff spot.

On the player side, the team has seen just as much upheaval, with 10 players from last season departing the team. Perhaps the most shocking of these are attacking midfielder Ashley Sanchez and center back Sam Staab, two consistent starters and fan favorites who were traded on NWSL Draft day. Though they were able to use the resulting picks to add some incredible young talent, it’s not clear that the Spirit have done enough to fill the gaps created by the loss of these players.

No summary of offseason exits would be complete without a mention of Tori Huster, who announced her retirement on New Year’s Eve. Though she played limited minutes in 2023, the impact of Huster’s leadership on the team can’t be understated, especially as they’ve cycled through so many different coaches over the past several years. A feature on the team since its founding, Huster was cited by younger players as someone who helped make them better and by Parsons for her drive to win. Her steady presence could have been an asset to a team adapting to a new system and will be missed.

Here’s the list of who won’t be returning in 2024:

Retired: Tori Huster
Trades: Dorian Bailey, Ashley Sanchez, Sam Staab
Departing free agents: Camryn Biegalski, Amber Brooks, Bayley Feist, Marissa Sheva
Waived: Nicole Douglas, Maddie Elwell, Inès Jaurena
Coaches not returning: Mark Parsons, Angela Salem

Coaching staff

Michele Kang can’t stop making big moves, and one of her most ambitious is hiring Jonatan Giráldez of FC Barcelona Femení as Washington’s next head coach.

At Barcelona, Giráldez has led one of the most talented squads in the world to multiple league titles and cups, not to mention the UEFA Champions League title, and shown a capacity for bringing out the best in a group of stars, in addition to utilizing the beautiful, exciting style of play the Spirit are aiming for. He has committed to finishing out his current season with FC Barcelona, meaning he’ll be unable to join the Spirit until late June, about halfway through the regular season.

Until then they’ll be coached by interim head coach Adrián González, formerly of RCD Espanyol. Relatively new to women’s soccer, González has the advantage of being familiar with Giráldez and his desired style of play. González reports he has been in frequent contact with his future boss since joining the Spirit for preseason to ensure continuity.

Roster

The Spirit signed two new free agents, five draft picks, and an undrafted rookie this year. Here’s the full breakdown, with new Spirit players in italics.

Goalkeepers (3): Nicole Barnhart, Lyza Bosselmann, Aubrey Kingsbury 
Defenders (6): Annaïg Butel (INTL), Gabrielle Carle (INTL), Anna Heilferty, Casey Krueger, Tara McKeown, Kate Wiesner 
Midfielders (6): Croix Bethune, Courtney Brown, Hal Hershfelt, Paige Metayer, Heather Stainbrook, Andi Sullivan 
Forwards (9): Ashley Hatch, Civana Kuhlmann (SEI), Makenna Morris, Brittany Ratcliffe, Chloe Ricketts (U18), Trinity Rodman, Ouleymata Sarr (INTL), Lena Silano, Riley Tanner 

Players to watch

Casey Krueger – Joining the Spirit after nearly a decade with the Chicago Red Stars, Casey Krueger brings some much-needed experience to the defender group. One of the NWSL’s best 1-on-1 defenders with a 96 percent tackle rate when facing a dribble in 2023, Krueger is capable of playing anywhere on the back line, potentially giving the team some depth in the center back role or freeing up Trinity Rodman to play higher up if Krueger’s deployed on the right wing. Her high pass completion rate and skill at chance creation also make her a good fit for the Spirit’s expected attacking style.

Andi Sullivan – The Andi Sullivan of 2021, when the Spirit won their first NWSL championship, and 2023 were almost not the same person. That’s not on Andi, and the visualization below proves it. In blue you can see 2021 Andi’s stats, and 2023 in red. Championship Season Andi got to flex her cerebral approach to midfield. She was allowed to assess the game in front of her to pick passes (much higher Pass OBV, Open Play xG Assisted), carry the ball into dangerous areas (much higher Dribble & Carry OBV), and make tackles and interceptions (much higher PAdj Tackles & Interceptions). A more patient, possession style should lead to us seeing the real Andi Sullivan once again.

Croix Bethune – Bethune had been one of the most uniquely talented central attacking midfielders in the college system for years. Injuries interrupted her career a couple times, but each return saw her come back with the same craftiness and acceleration that makes her a real problem for defenses. The obvious change is that Bethune will face professional defenses now, and in a defensively aggressive league. We’ve seen rookies storm the league before, and watched the meteoric rise of Trinity Rodman up close from day one. Bethune has a chance to make a similar impact. She’s a tremendously clever player who is efficient on the ball, has excellent vision, and almost uncanny ability to read and split open defenses.

Expected playing style

This will be the most intriguing season-long aspect of the Spirit in 2024. Last year they were a bit of a mess in possession, but sort of by design. By the numbers, they were the second most aggressive team in the league when it came to pressing (Gotham 1st), but their struggles, particularly toward the end of the season, were twofold. First, they pressed mainly from a lower position on the pitch, and 2) they were too fast and too direct in possession, leading to the fewest passes in the league and the worst passing percentage.

So while the defensive numbers looked quite good…

…the in-possession and attacking numbers certainly did not. For as much pressing and ball winning as the 2023 Spirit accomplished (7.93 passes per defensive action; 2nd in the league), their clear shots (2.23; 5th) and high press shots (2.91; 9th) per 90 were quite low.

The combination of pressing too low, ceding field position, and playing too direct left them without a way to build attacks in a more precise or threatening way. Those days are likely over. While you shouldn’t expect a carbon copy of Barcelona tactics, there will certainly be a focus on time, space and off ball movement to provide options to the player in possession, and patience will once again be encouraged.

What that will look like in the NWSL, a more competitive league and a more defensively aggressive league, remains to be seen. There’s a lot of variation in possession systems, and the league will dictate some of what’s possible and what isn’t, which will be an intriguing throughline to the season as the team attempts to settle into a more modern and intricate style.

While specifics won’t be known until matches are played, some ideas should immediately show. Look for fullbacks to get high and wide, and have the freedom to move into space in the final third. If this happens, expected wide forwards Ouleymata Sarr and Trinity Rodman should be able to receive the ball further inside, shortening their route to goal and providing better angles to shoot or cross. Lastly, look for a high defensive line. Losing Sam Staab still stings, but it’s possible the decision was made to prioritize speed and 1v1 defending in preparation of this tactical shift.

Likely lineup

Expect a return to more modern formations. The ultimate goal is probably a 433, but I don’t think the Spirit have the cohesion or strong box-to-box midfielder to occupy space between Sullivan and Bethune to start there. Until they are (or make a midfield signing), look for a 4-2-3-1. At full strength, here’s what I’m assuming for matchday 1:

Hatch
Sarr – Bethune – Rodman
Sullivan – Metayer
Carle – Bütel – McKeown – Krueger

Formations are quite fluid these days, so in buildup we could, and likely will, see something very different, such as a lot more players filling the attacking third. Out of possession things will change as well, depending on how, who and when they want to press. Still, there is always a base formation that at least tells you who will be on the pitch and what their roles will likely be, so let’s see how close we get to the lineup graphic against Seattle Reign.

Our predictions

This team is younger than ever and going through continued upheaval in coaching staff, so expect a rocky start to the season… and maybe some more ups and downs as Coach Giráldez joins and the Olympics cause disruption halfway through. They have the talent to pull out some wins even early on, and, if they’re able to adapt to the new system, I wouldn’t be surprised to see the Spirit in the fight for a lower playoff spot in October. -Annie

The 2024 Spirit are attempting a lot of change all at once. From integrating lots of rookies, to style of play plus two coaching transitions in the span of six months, there’s so much going on. While it’s all intriguing, it will also likely result in some growing pains due to trial and error. Expect a slow with inconsistent performances depending on competition. The good news is that lots of teams are undergoing changes, and not all of them with the same level of resources, talent or ambition. With an expanded playoff field, expect the Spirit to land somewhere between 5th and 8th. -André

André Carlisle also contributed to this article.