Finally, the Washington Spirit have their center back. They’ve agreed to a 3-year contract with now former Rayadas captain and Mexico center back Rebeca Bernal. The 27-year-old has played for Monterrey since 2017 and has become one of the club’s legendary figures. Now, at the peak of her prime, she’s headed to the NWSL to embark on a new chapter with the Spirit.

The Monterrey defender will occupy an international spot. According to Spotrac and confirmed by Washington Spirit sources, Bernal will be the club’s eighth international on the 2025 roster, but that’s because Ouleye Sarr is currently listed as SEI. Once she is available to return to the play, the Spirit will have make another move. They can either loan an international player to another club, or make another deal with an NWSL club to acquire another slot like they did in an earlier trade with Orlando Pride. (Shoutout to their very good work to secure green cards for several of their international players.)

Bernal’s farewell match on February 14 against rivals, Tigres, didn’t go as planned given the result, but the outpouring of love postmatch reveals what she has meant to the club. She played defensive midfielder and center back for the club and, in addition to wearing the captain’s armband, was also the team’s penalty and free kick taker. There’s a reason for both, in addition to being a physical defensive presence, Bernal also has exceptional striking technique. This has led to her scoring more than the standard center back header from set pieces – which she can score, too – but also free kicks and outside of the box bangers.

Bernal also has plenty of international experience. After representing Mexico at the U-17 and U-20 World Cups in 2014 and 2016 respectively, she made her senior team debut in 2017, as a 19-year-old. She also regularly wears the captain’s armband for Mexico as well.

In a just world I would be able to drop a handful of numbers and data visualizations to more sharply present Bernal’s player profile and effectiveness throughout a game. Unfortunately there aren’t many reliable stats to point to, and not even FBref tracks stats from Liga MX Femenil. That sucks and should not be read as representative of the talent in the league. Over the past few years there’s been a concerted effort to grow the league. Stars like Jenni Hermoso, Sandra Paños and Amandine Henry currently play there. Chelsea and USWNT forward Mia Fishel opted for Tigres in Liga MX Femenil instead of playing for the Orlando Pride who drafted her 5th overall in 2022.

In addition to foreign players, the league is also home to Mexico’s current and future generation of stars, many of which USWNT became familiar with during the W Gold Cup when Mexico beat them 2-0. Mayra Pelayo scored an absolute banger, and the best winger you might not know, Jacqueline Ovalle, scored as well. Rebeca Bernal captained the team and played all 90 minutes in defensive midfield.

All this is to say that the Spirit made one hell of a signing. Bernal reached a point in her career where she was ready for a new challenge, and it’s meaningful that she’s chosen the Spirit as her next destination. Bernal is already a star, and has the potential to solve the left sided center back problem on the other side of Tara McKeown.

You’ll also be delighted to know that she’s already scored against NWSL competition, and it was a banger at that. Even better, it was against a team that’s rapidly becoming the Spirit’s nemesis.

We would like to subscribe to several more of these, please. Welcome to the Spirits, Rebeca!

Image courtesy of CF Monterrey, via Rebeca Bernal’s Instagram page.