Washington Spirit sign Makenna Morris to additional 1-year contract
Makenna Morris will be staying in her hometown for one more year. After entering free agency at the beginning of this month, the Germantown native has been re-signed by Washington Spirit for the 2025 season.
Lead image: Morris (center) is embraced by teammates after scoring her first professional goal. Courtesy of Washington Spirit.
“I’m thrilled to re-sign with the Spirit,” Morris said in the team’s announcement. “It’s been a blessing to learn and grow as a player under this staff and this group of players and I’m excited to have the opportunity to keep working hard and growing. DC is home and I can’t wait to continue to play in front of the best fans.”
Morris, a Clemson graduate, was drafted by Washington in the first round of the 2024 NWSL Draft. She was the only member of Washington’s preseason rookie class to be signed to a contract of just one year and, after one appearance, spent much of the early season out with an injury.
Returning in mid-summer, Morris made a big splash in Washington’s July 6 match against Bay FC. In the 4th minute, she scored her first NWSL goal off of a free kick. Later in the same match, she won the Spirit a penalty kick and assisted another goal by Ouleye Sarr, contributing to every one of the goals in Washington’s 3-0 win.
Overall, Morris has played in five regular season matches for the Spirit, typically on the left wing, and has taken eight shots and made 11 shot-creating actions. As injuries mount for the team and head coach Jonatan Giráldez rotates his squad, Morris is likely to have more opportunities to show what she can do in the weeks ahead.
Though Washington Spirit have a number of talented attackers, Morris will be anything but redundant on the squad. She’s a promising player, who’ll continue to provide them with needed depth and could easily compete for a starting spot on the wing. Signing her for an additional year was a wise move.
Interesting that she was only signed for one year originally. Interested she’d be extended (but only for one year). And come the off-season, when Jona Giraldez has a chance to control who stays and goes, it will be interesting to see the decisions. For instance, I’ve always been a big supporter of Ashley Hatch. Well, is she surplus to requirements? What about Brittany Ratcliffe? And a factor in all of this will be: how long will Croix Bethune be out?
All good questions. I personally hoped when the curious decision to send her to free agency was announced, that she would be re-signed in negotiations. There may be a limit to the number of offensive players you can keep in a squad, but you want to hold onto effective weapons, and not let them become killers elsewhere in the league. I fully believe Morris is a potentially lethal player, will be interesting to see how it goes
[…] A native of Germantown, MD, Morris grew up watching the Spirit at Maryland SoccerPlex and dreaming of playing for the team. That dream came true when was selected in the first round of the 2024 NWSL Draft and signed a one-year contract with the Spirit — the only member of that rookie class to sign a contract for less than three years. After that contract ended, she was re-signed as a free agent for the 2025 season. […]