Washington Spirit host their first home game of the 2024 season at Audi Field in Buzzard Point tonight, hoping to move on from a rough opening match. They’ll face Bay FC, an ambitious expansion team that made waves with big signings in the offseason and were rewarded with a victory in their first-ever game last weekend.

Washington are adapting to a new, possession-based style under interim head coach Adrián González, who has been with the team since mid-February, and started five new players against Seattle Reign last Sunday. Perhaps because of that transition, the Spirit struggled on both sides of the ball in their first match and put up no shots (although the 1-0 score line was ultimately decided by a series of unfavorable decisions).

“We moved on,” González said, “It’s a new week, a new game.” He said he gave his team 24 hours to reset after the match, before returning to training. González said the team have not changed their game plan but focused on improving generally. Expect the Spirit to run in a 4-3-3 formation, although the return of Trinity Rodman and Kate Wiesner’s injury will force a slightly different Starting XI. The team has more depth at fullback but could find more success if they learn from the second half of Sunday’s match and play Casey Krueger there instead of at center back.

For their inaugural season, Bay FC spent big on international talent, like Deyna Castellanos and Asisat Oshoala, in addition to acquiring NWSL players through drafts and free agency. Under General Manager Lucy Rushton, they’ve also demonstrated a willingness to invest in staff, from a data analysis team to coaches. Two of those, head coach Albertin Montoya and assistant coach Angela Salem, previously worked for the Spirit, as did Dorian Bailey, who was traded ahead of the Expansion Draft, making their trip to Washington something of a reunion.

“We know they’re going to be organized. We know they’re going to be a good team,” Ashley Hatch said of her opponents, before wryly adding, “We’ll probably say hi after the game.”

Key Player: Trinity Rodman

Making her season debut after a red card suspension, Trinity Rodman will be tasked with helping to turn around an offense that had .08 expected goals against Seattle. Rodman is up to the challenge. Capable both of winning the ball in duels and breaking down opposing lines with her dribble, Rodman led the Spirit in shot-creating actions last year.

Watch Out For: Asisat Oshoala, Lysianne Proulx

Six-time winner of the African Women’s Footballer of the Year award, Asisat Oshoala made her first NWSL appearance and scored her first NWSL goal last week. The striker spent the last five years at Barcelona Femení and should prove a big challenge to Washington’s fledgling backline.

At the other end of the pitch, Canadian goalkeeper Lysianne Proulx also made a big splash in her NWSL debut, when she made an incredible 10 saves to shut out Angel City.

Challenges: The Spirit have a long list of improvement projects, but perhaps the biggest is to become more organized on the attack. Against Seattle, they were slow to start and struggled to move the ball forward. They’ll need to fix that to win tonight, expanding on the few impressive plays they strung together last week.

Previously: This is the first match-up between the Spirit and Bay FC.

Washington Spirit Availability:

Out: Civana Kuhlmann (SEI – knee); Kate Wiesner (thigh)

Questionable: none

Bay FC Availability:

Out: Melissa Lowder (SEI – knee)

Questionable: Racheal Kundananji (lower leg) 

Location: Audi Field, Washington, DC

Kickoff time: 7:30 p.m.

Referee: Danielle Chesky

Available TV: ION