Croix Bethune

Croix Collette Bethune (/ˈkrɔɪ bəˈθuːn/ CROY bə-THOON; born March 14, 2001) is an American professional soccer player who plays as an attacking midfielder for the Washington Spirit of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) and the United States national team.
Bethune played college soccer for the USC Trojans and Georgia Bulldogs, twice being named first-team All-American, before being selected by the Spirit third overall in the 2024 NWSL Draft. She tied the league's single-season assist record in her first season and was named the NWSL Rookie of the Year and Midfielder of the Year. Bethune also won a gold medal with the U.S. national team at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Bethune was raised in Alpharetta, Georgia, the daughter of United States Air Force members Richard and Jean Bethune, and has a brother. She started playing soccer at age three or four. When she was four, her parents were stationed Stratford-upon-Avon, England, for three and a half years, where she played with boys because there was no girls' team. She played club soccer for the ECNL's Concorde Fire Soccer Club in Atlanta and was named to the national Best XI in 2017 and 2018. She played one season of high school soccer at Alpharetta High School. She also played basketball in high school but chose to focus on soccer after recovering from an ACL tear while training with the national under-17 team. She committed to the University of Southern California over schools including Florida State, Duke, and UCLA.
Bethune played three seasons for the USC Trojans. She missed her freshman 2019 season due to a second ACL tear. On her debut for the Trojans, she provided two assists in a 4–3 overtime win over BYU in spring 2021. She scored 16 goals in the fall 2021 season, the third most in a season in program history, including a nine-minute hat trick in the first round of the NCAA tournament. In both 2021 and 2022, as captain of the Trojans, she was named first-team All-Pac-12, first-team All-American, and the Pac-12 Midfielder of the Year.
Bethune transferred to the Georgia Bulldogs for the 2023 season, reuniting with former USC coach Keidane McAlpine, after tearing her ACL for a third time while finishing her undergraduate degree at USC. She led Georgia to its first postseason title in program history at the SEC tournament in 2023, where she scored an equalizer against Kentucky in the quarterfinals and a last-minute winner over Texas A&M in the semifinals, and was named the tournament's most valuable player. She was named second-team All-SEC and second-team All-American.
The Washington Spirit selected Bethune third overall in the 2024 NWSL Draft; the Spirit acquired the pick by trading Sam Staab to the Chicago Red Stars. She signed a three-year contract with an option to extend. She was part of the starting lineup from the opening matchday on March 17, filling the role that belonged to recently traded Ashley Sanchez. She scored her first professional goal in late stoppage time to defeat Bay FC 2–1 on March 23. On May 2, she assisted on three goals in a 4–2 win over the Chicago Red Stars, becoming the youngest NWSL player to record that many assists in one match. She broke the rookie assist record with her seventh assist of the season on May 10; she also scored that day in a 3–2 win over the Seattle Reign. Her strike in late stoppage time on June 15, salvaging a 1–1 draw against San Diego Wave FC, was voted NWSL Goal of the Week.
Bethune provided her tenth assist of the season in a 4–1 win over the Kansas City Current on August 25, tying the league record for assists in a season set by Tobin Heath in 2016. Four days later, she tore her meniscus while throwing the first pitch at a Washington Nationals baseball game, ending her rookie season prematurely; she scored 5 goals in 17 appearances. The Spirit went on to finish the regular season and playoffs runner-up to the Orlando Pride. Bethune was named NWSL Rookie of the Month a record four times (March/April, May, June, and August). Despite missing the last two months of the season, she was voted NWSL Rookie of the Year and Midfielder of the Year and selected to the NWSL Best XI.
Bethune was first called up to a youth national team training camp with the United States national under-15 team at age 13 in March 2015. She helped win the 2016 CONCACAF Girls' U-15 Championship, where she was named to the tournament's Best XI team. She was the youngest player on the under-17 team in November 2016. She played for the winning team at the 2018 CONCACAF Women's U-17 Championship and competed at the 2018 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup. She played friendlies for the under-23 team in 2022.
Bethune was called into her first senior national team camp as a training player in June 2024. Later that month she was named as an alternate to the national team for the 2024 Summer Olympics in France. Bethune made her first USWNT appearance on July 13, 2024, in the 81st minute of a friendly Olympic sendoff against Mexico. She was elevated to the main roster at the Olympics because of an injury to Jaedyn Shaw and made her Olympic debut in the 79th minute of the third group stage game against Australia on July 31. The United States went on to win the gold medal, defeating Brazil 1–0 in the final on a goal from Mallory Swanson.
An attacking midfielder, Bethune possesses excellent vision and technical skill which make her a standout passer.
2024 NWSL midfielder of the year + rookie of the year
USC Trojans
Georgia Bulldogs
Washington Spirit
United States