# 2021 Washington Spirit season

The 2021 Washington Spirit season was the club's 11th season of existence, and its ninth in the National Women's Soccer League, the top division of women's soccer in the United States.
The season began with the 2021 NWSL Challenge Cup on April 9, 2021 followed by a 24-match regular season. The regular season concluded on October 31, 2021. The Spirit made its first playoff appearance in five years on November 7, 2021, taking down the defending league champion North Carolina Courage in a quarterfinal match at Audi Field. On November 14, Washington took down two-seed OL Reign in Tacoma to advance to the 2021 NWSL Championship Game in Louisville, KY. The following Saturday, November 20, the Spirit earned its first league title with a 2-1 win over the Chicago Red Stars after extra time.

## Background

The 2020 season was the Washington Spirit's seventh season. The season was slated to begin on April 18, 2020 but was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Ultimately, the NWSL season was cancelled due to the pandemic. The club participated in the NWSL Challenge Cup and the NWSL Fall series which were held in lieu of the regular season. The Challenge Cup was held behind closed doors at the neutral venue of Zions Bank Stadium in Herriman, Utah. The Spirit reached the Quarterfinals of the Challenge Cup, and finished in third place in the Fall Series. Combined across all matches, the Spirit had the second best record of matches played during the 2020 season.

## Club
### Roster

    As of September 11, 2021.
| No. | Pos. | Player | Nation |
| 1 | GK | Aubrey Bledsoe | United States |
| 2 | FW | Trinity Rodman | United States |
| 3 | DF | Sam Staab | United States |
| 5 | DF | Kelley O'Hara | United States |
| 6 | DF | Emily Sonnett | United States |
| 7 | MF | Saori Takarada | Japan |
| 8 | FW | Averie Collins | United States |
| 9 | DF | Tegan McGrady | United States |
| 10 | FW | Ashley Sanchez | United States |
| 11 | MF | Jordan DiBiasi | United States |
| 12 | MF | Andi Sullivan | United States |
| 13 | FW | Bayley Feist | United States |
| 14 | DF | Paige Nielsen | United States |
| 16 | MF | Julia Roddar | Sweden |
| 17 | FW | Kumi Yokoyama | Japan |
| 18 | GK | Devon Kerr | Canada |
| 19 | MF | Dorian Bailey | United States |
| 20 | FW | Mariana Speckmaier | Venezuela |
| 21 | MF | Anna Heilferty | United States |
| 23 | DF | Tori Huster | United States |
| 24 | MF | Chinyelu Asher | Jamaica |
| 25 | DF | Karina Rodriguez | Mexico |
| 27 | FW | Tara McKeown | United States |
| 28 | DF | Morgan Goff | United States |
| 30 | DF | Camryn Biegalski | United States |
| 31 | GK | Sydney Schneider | Jamaica |
| 33 | FW | Ashley Hatch | United States |

## Competitive
### NWSL Challenge Cup
#### Standings

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | NJ/NY Gotham FC | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 3 | +2 | 8 | Qualification for the Championship |
| 2 | North Carolina Courage | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 9 | 8 | +1 | 7 | |
| 3 | Orlando Pride | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 5 | |
| 4 | Washington Spirit | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | −1 | 4 | |
| 5 | Racing Louisville FC | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 6 | −2 | 2 | |

#### Results
### NWSL
#### Standings

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Portland Thorns FC | 24 | 13 | 5 | 6 | 33 | 17 | +16 | 44 | NWSL Shield |
| 2 | OL Reign | 24 | 13 | 3 | 8 | 37 | 24 | +13 | 42 | Playoffs – Semi-finals |
| 3 | Washington Spirit (C) | 24 | 11 | 6 | 7 | 29 | 26 | +3 | 39 | Playoffs – First round |
| 4 | Chicago Red Stars | 24 | 11 | 5 | 8 | 28 | 28 | 0 | 38 | Playoffs – First round |
| 5 | NJ/NY Gotham FC | 24 | 8 | 11 | 5 | 29 | 21 | +8 | 35 | Playoffs – First round |
| 6 | North Carolina Courage | 24 | 9 | 6 | 9 | 28 | 23 | +5 | 33 | Playoffs – First round |
| 7 | Houston Dash | 24 | 9 | 5 | 10 | 31 | 31 | 0 | 32 | |
| 8 | Orlando Pride | 24 | 7 | 7 | 10 | 27 | 32 | −5 | 28 | |
| 9 | Racing Louisville FC | 24 | 5 | 7 | 12 | 21 | 40 | −19 | 22 | |
| 10 | Kansas City | 24 | 3 | 7 | 14 | 15 | 36 | −21 | 16 | |

#### Playoffs
## Transfers
### Transfers in

| Date | Position | No. | Name | From | Fee/notes |
| December 24, 2020 | MF | 6 | Emily Sonnett | Orlando Pride | Trade for Meggie Dougherty Howard |
| January 26, 2021 | MF | 16 | Julia Roddar | Göteborg | Free |
| June 23, 2021 | DF | 25 | Karina Rodriguez | UCLA Bruins | Free |

### Transfers out

| Date | Position | No. | Name | To | Fee/notes |
| August 18, 2020 | MF | 10 | Rose Lavelle | Manchester City | Free |
| November 2, 2020 | FW | 20 | Cheyna Matthews | Racing Louisville | Waived |
| November 12, 2020 | GK | 21 | Katie Lund | Racing Louisville | Draft |
| November 12, 2020 | FW | 6 | Katie McClure | Racing Louisville | Draft |
| December 24, 2020 | MF | 8 | Meggie Howard | Orlando Pride | Trade for Emily Sonnett |
| December 30, 2020 | DF | 5 | Brooke Hendrix | Racing Louisville | Free |
| January 7, 2021 | FW | 18 | Jessie Scarpa | KIF Örebro | Free |
| July 8, 2021 | DF | 4 | Natalie Jacobs | Real Betis | Wavied |

### NWSL Draft picks

2021 Washington Spirit Draft Picks :
| Round | Selection | Player | Nat. | Position | College |
| 1 | 2 | Trinity Rodman | USA | FW | Washington State |
| 1 | 8 | Tara McKeown | USA | FW | USC |
| 2 | 19 | Anna Heilferty | USA | FW | Boston U |
| 3 | 29 | Sydney Schneider | JAM | GK | UNC Wilmington |
| 4 | 39 | Mariana Speckmaier | VEN | FW | Clemson |

## Player statistics
### Top scorers

| Place | Pos. | No. | Name | CC | NWSL | NWSL Playoffs | Total |
| 1 | FW | 33 | Ashley Hatch | 0 | 10 | 1 | 11 |
| 2 | FW | 2 | Trinity Rodman | 1 | 6 | 1 | 8 |
| 3 | FW | 10 | Ashley Sanchez | 1 | 4 | 1 | 6 |
| 4 | MF | 12 | Andi Sullivan | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| 5 | FW | 17 | Kumi Yokoyama | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 5 | DF | 3 | Sam Staab | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 5 | DF | 14 | Paige Nielsen | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 5 | MF | 23 | Tori Huster | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 5 | DF | 27 | Tara McKeown | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 5 | MF | 16 | Julia Roddar | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 5 | MF | 26 | Taylor Aylmer | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 5 | DF | 5 | Kelley O'Hara | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 6 | | | Own Goal | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Total | Total | Total | Total | 3 | 29 | 5 | 37 |

### Assist leaders

| Place | Pos. | No. | Name | CC | NWSL | NWSL Playoffs | Total |
| 1 | FW | 2 | Trinity Rodman | 1 | 5 | 1 | 7 |
| 2 | MF | 12 | Andi Sullivan | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| 3 | DF | 4 | Natalie Jacobs | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 3 | MF | 23 | Tori Huster | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 3 | MF | 26 | Taylor Aylmer | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 3 | FW | 27 | Tara McKeown | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 3 | DF | 3 | Sam Staab | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 4 | DF | 5 | Kelley O'Hara | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 4 | MF | 19 | Dorian Bailey | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 4 | MF | 16 | Julia Roddar | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Total | Total | Total | Total | 3 | 18 | 2 | 23 |

### Clean sheets

| Place | Pos. | No. | Name | CC | NWSL | NWSL Playoffs | Total |
| 1 | GK | 1 | Aubrey Bledsoe | 2 | 8 | 1 | 11 |
| Total | Total | Total | Total | 2 | 8 | 1 | 11 |

### Disciplinary

| Pos. | No. | Name | CC | CC | NWSL | NWSL | NWSL Playoffs | NWSL Playoffs | Total | Total |
| GK | 1 | Aubrey Bledsoe | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| FW | 2 | Trinity Rodman | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| DF | 3 | Sam Staab | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| DF | 4 | Natalie Jacobs | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| DF | 5 | Kelley O'Hara | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| DF | 6 | Emily Sonnett | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| FW | 10 | Ashley Sanchez | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| MF | 12 | Andi Sullivan | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| DF | 16 | Julia Roddar | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| MF | 19 | Dorian Bailey | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| DF | 21 | Anna Heilferty | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| DF | 23 | Tori Huster | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| MF | 26 | Taylor Aylmer | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| FW | 33 | Ashley Hatch | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Total | Total | Total | 6 | 1 | 24 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 32 | 3 |