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A “Normal” Game for Washington
Rodman’s brace and Abiodun’s debut highlight a steady Spirit win over Seattle.
Goalside Gossip
September 08, 2025
A “tamer” crowd rallied in DC on Sunday, as only 12,688 people gathered to watch the Spirit take on the Seattle Reign, their third lowest attendance total of the season. The Spirit began the day in 2nd position, well below the league leaders, Kansas City Current, while the Reign sat in sixth place. The starting lineup for the Spirit was noticeably without Croix Bethune, the reigning NWSL rookie of the year, which left fans confused. However, new standout player, Deb Abiodun started her first Spirit game, just four days after she scored her first goal against Vancouver Rise FC Academy in the Concacaf W Champions Cup.
A fairly slow start plagued the game. Both teams had chances, but none that were of substantial importance. Deb Abiodun and Hal Hershfelt both tried long shots that did not trouble the Reign defense. Huitema had a header go well wide of the goal, as Kingsbury stood still. While during the opening half an hour the fans were not blessed with a goal, they were awed by the technical skills of the Spirit midfield. Abiodun was running riot all over the pitch, reminiscent of Julie Ertz. Calm as can be, she controlled the ball, both offensively and defensively, giving the Spirit a much needed stabilization in the center. Trinity Rodman spoke on her new teammate after the game, saying:
“She [Abiodun] played insane. I'm still tripping, like I've obviously seen it in training all the time, like she's such a smart player, her decisiveness, you just never know where she's going to turn, where she's going to pop up.”
Deb Abiodun, Pitt’s two-time All-ACC midfielder and Nigerian international team standout
Over thirty minutes passed and the Spirit had a chance. Leicy Santos found herself with space in the middle of the pitch, and Santos did what she does best. She scanned the pitch and whipped a ball into the box, finding the foot of Trinity Rodman. Rodman did what she does best and put the ball into the back of the net, leaving Dickey helpless. Rowdy Audi once again proved their nickname, as the crowd exploded. Esme Morgan spoke on the atmosphere after the game:
“Rowdy Audi is the best place to play. It's so much fun. They get behind us. They bring the noise. They support us so well, no matter what the result is. And I feel like when we can get results like we did today, it's so crazy, because it feels like we're rewarding what they're giving back.”
Kate Wiesner, former Penn State standout and Big Ten All-Tournament honoree,
now anchoring the Spirit’s defense
Both teams went into the half with different attitudes: the home team looking to defend a narrow lead, and the visitors hoping to change their luck and grab an equalizer. Not as slow of a start in the second half. The Reign had a few big chances, and Kingsbury came up huge with saves. The 33-year-old has still got it, and kept the Spirit well in front for the rest of the game. The 67th minute brought Croix Bethune on for Santos, an ovation for both players of an elite caliber. Kingsbury made another easy save to deny Huitema an equalizer just a few minutes later. With a narrow lead to defend, Coach Adrian Gonzalez took off star defender, Tara McKeown, and brought on Kysha Sylla; a change that left many mystified. It proved not to matter.
With less than ten minutes remaining, Croix got the ball in the attacking third. She took on two defenders and played a short ball into the box. Who else to connect with that ball but Trinity Rodman. She smashes it past a diving Dickey, who had no chance of getting that ball. The Spirit’s lead had doubled, much to the relief of the supporters who had the pleasure of watching a “normal” Spirit game for once. Head Coach Adrián González spoke on post-injury Trinity Rodman and the subtle normalcy of this match:
“I think it's a mistake if we are trying to see the same Trin from in the past, because she's not the same. And maybe that can bring frustration, we are trying to build a new Trin, a new player. And also we all have that mentality, like we want to be better every day, and we all are different every day. So yeah, I'm happy that she's now having that, you know, that situation where she can find a new version, and you know, she can also discover herself in a different positions, in different ways. She can bring different things, and she's doing really good.”
“Well, I'm so happy, because I think we've had probably one of the best performances this season in terms of 90 minutes. In the past, maybe we had some good first halves or second halves or but then we always had those minutes like we were panicking a little bit or suffering. And today, the feeling was that we probably had the control of the game most of the time. Obviously, they've created chances too, but we know what we wanted to have. I think we've done a great job, especially executing the game plan, which was just a little bit depressing at the beginning, but then everything was great.”
The final whistle blew, and the stadium erupted in cheers. Washington, who haven’t lost since mid-June, secured their first clean sheet win since a 1-0 win against the Pride on April 19. Talking points from this game revolved around team selection. Croix Bethune on the bench, Kouassi and Miura not featuring off the bench, and Chloe Ricketts not in the squad at all. The brace-scorer had her boyfriend, Ben Shelton, in the crowd for the second consecutive game, in which the Spirit have picked up 4 points. Trinity, who was interviewed by him post-game, spoke on Ben being there:
“Yeah, Leicy came up to me in the locker room, and she was like, tell Ben, he needs to come to every game. You smile more, you score more. I'm like, All right, but yeah, obviously having him supporting is amazing.”
Leicy Santos, Colombian international, former Liga F star at Atlético,
now commanding the Spirit’s midfield
The Spirit have their biggest test of the season next week; Kansas City Current away. The Current sit pretty on top of the table, 14(!) points ahead of the second-placed Washington Spirit. The Spirit will go roaring into that game, hoping to add pressure at the top, and extend their five point lead ahead of third-placed San Diego Wave.
Written by Brian Rapuano and Sydney Molaver