Last year the Washington Spirit gave up a lot to bring in ultra talented rookies. In the end they secured the signatures of six first-year players, and every single one balled out when called upon throughout the season. So when it was announced that the NWSL would no longer require a draft to bring in rookies, all eyes shifted to the Spirit and General Manager, and former head coach at Florida State University, Mark Krikorian.

The Washington Spirit kicked off the first full week of the new year with an intriguing pair of college signings. Deborah Abiodun, midfielder and now former Pitt Panther, has signed a three-year contract plus a mutual option for the 2028 season. Emma Gaines-Ramos, forward and former San Diego University Aztec, agreed to a two-year deal with mutual options for the 2027 and 2028 seasons. Gaines-Ramos will start the season on the season-ending injury (SEI) list due to recent knee surgery, but will be eligible to return to the pitch in 2025 once fully recovered.

With the signings of Courtney Brown and Heather Stainbrook, Spirit scouts and talent recruitment proved their eye for talent identification can span far beyond the nation’s top teams and performers. With Abiodun and Gaines-Ramos they seem to have done the same. That may be slightly unfair to Abiodun, who went to and played in the 2023 Women’s World Cup and last year’s Paris Olympics with Nigeria, but she’s also being signed with two years of college eligibility remaining. Abiodun will also fill an international slot, though one was freed up over the offseason thanks to Gabby Carle earning her green card.

At just 20, Abiodun has shown lots of promise as a midfielder. She started and played 89 minutes against Canada at the 2023 World Cup, unfortunately capping that performance with a red card in the 98th minute. She bounced back to start all three games for Nigeria at the Paris Olympics, two narrow 0-1 losses to Brazil and Spain, and a 1-3 loss to quarterfinalists Japan, who were yeeted from the tournament with a Trinity Rodman banger in added extra time.

Given the vast talent disparity, college statistics can be a bit unreliable, but looking for peaks in numbers can usually help identify what a player is good at, and suggest that they were able to sustain a level of impact against below and above average teams. It’s not a guarantee, but it’s a start given the disparities that can exist across hundreds of programs and thousands of players.

Having said all that, Abiodun’s defensive duel numbers per 90 are an outrageous 10.28, and even more absurd is the 70.7% won. Without adjusting for possession, StatsBomb has Louisville midfielder Taylor Flint leading in tackles & interceptions (defensive duels) per 90 with 7.41, and 65% of dribbles stopped. Obviously this is not a 1:1 comparison, but it does spotlight what we should expect from Abiodun as a young midfielder with a lot of room, and talent, to grow.

While we’ll have to wait longer to see Gaines-Ramos, there are peaks in her stats that jump out as well. Primarily, her dribbling and progressive runs per 90.

Gaines-Ramos put up a silly 11.0 dribbles per 90 with nearly 61% successful. In a truncated season, now teammate Rosemonde Kouassi led the NWSL with 7.54 dribbles per 90 with a 42% success rate (Delphine Cascarino was probably the most efficient dribbler with 4.17 per 90 and a 67% success rate). While there’s no telling where Gaines-Ramos’ numbers will settle once against professional competition, particularly in a tough league like the NWSL, the numbers are promising. Also, Audi loves a super dribbly and fun winger who can score a cheeky goal from time to time, so get well soon Emma.

Like with Croix Bethune, Hal Hershfelt, Kate Wiesner, Makenna Morris, Courtney Brown and Heather Stainbrook, we’ll have to wait and see how these players fit into the squad and Jona Giráldez’s style of play. But on the surface it appears as if the Spirit have done it again by identifying two specialists who could fulfill specific roles within the team.

Another thing the Spirit seem to have done is sign a truly good person in Deborah Abiodun. In August she posted a video about her journey, what motivates her, and how she wants to use her success.

Welcome to the Spirits, Deborah and Emma!

Images courtesy of the Washington Spirit.