The 19-year-old has been replaced on the gameday roster by Croix Bethune
U.S. women’s national team forward Jaedyn Shaw will miss the team’s Olympic opener against Zambia with a leg injury, U.S. Soccer announced just 90 minutes before Thursday’s match.
Shaw was replaced in the matchday squad by roster alternate Croix Bethune, who earned her first two USWNT caps in this month’s friendlies against Mexico and Costa Rica.
No USWNT official had indicated prior to Thursday that Shaw was suffering from any injury. The San Diego Wave star played against Mexico and Costa Rica, coming off the bench in the second half in both matches.
Shaw did suffer a leg injury with the Wave back in May, but only missed one NWSL game before she was able to return later in the month.
According to ESPN, Shaw was injured in training the day before the match against Zambia, and U.S. officials don’t believe the problem is serious.
Forward Jaedyn Shaw (leg injury) is unavailable for the match against Zambia and will be replaced on today’s 18-player roster by alternate Croix Bethune.
— U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team (@USWNT) July 25, 2024
If Shaw isn’t seriously hurt, head coach Emma Hayes could take advantage of a new roster rule to bring the forward back at some point during the tournament.
This Olympics, roster alternates are able to replace injured players on a game-by-game basis. That means Hayes could bring Shaw back whenever she is fit, moving Bethune back to her alternate role.
Shaw made her USWNT debut in October and quickly established herself as one of the team’s top attacking players. This spring, Shaw became the first player to ever score a goal in each of her first five USWNT starts.
Overall, Shaw has seven goals in 16 caps for the U.S. so far.
The crowd at Audi Field erupted when the Spirit’s rookie star took the pitch with the USWNT
Croix Bethune tried to stay focused when she took the field in the U.S. women’s national team’s 0-0 draw with Costa Rica on Tuesday night, but the Washington Spirit star admitted that was not easy.
Bethune was given a rousing reception at her home stadium Audi Field, where she has put together a scintillating rookie season in the NWSL thus far.
The 23-year-old has five goals and a league-leading nine assists, recently becoming the first player to earn three consecutive rookie of the month honors.
The playmaker’s exploits with the Spirit have earned her an Olympic roster spot as an alternate, and she secured her first two USWNT caps in the team’s send-off matches this month.
After making her debut in the 81st minute of Saturday’s 1-0 win over Mexico, Bethune came on in the 89th minute against Costa Rica in Washington, D.C.
Bethune is one of four Spirit players heading to France with the Olympic team. Trinity Rodman and Casey Krueger are on the active roster, while Hal Hershfelt is also an alternate.
As she warmed up alongside fellow substitutes Krueger and Hershfelt on Tuesday, Bethune said she and her club teammates could feel the energy from their home fans.
“It was great, a lot of energy,” Bethune told reporters after the game. “Everyone kept kind of screaming my name, screaming Hal’s name, Casey’s name. So it was just good to feel that energy and positivity.”
Those screams from a small section of fans near the substitutes paled in comparison to the moment Bethune entered the match, which saw the sellout crowd at Audi Field erupt in perhaps the loudest cheers of the night.
“I just couldn’t stop smiling,” Bethune said of her entrance. “I wanted to stay focused and keep a straight face but it was kind of hard just hearing all the chants. So to feel the love and the support was amazing.”
The Washington Spirit rookies want to make sure their opportunities with the USWNT aren’t just a one-time thing
The first U.S. women’s national team roster of the Emma Hayes era is an intriguing mix of veterans and newcomers, and most of that latter group will be coming in from one NWSL club.
Hayes named a 26-player squad on Tuesday, with 23 eligible to play in upcoming friendlies against South Korea. Of that group, four will be experiencing the USWNT environment for the first time: Chicago Red Stars center back Sam Staab, and Washington Spirit rookies Croix Bethune, Hal Hershfelt, and Kate Wiesner.
Speaking to Pro Soccer Wire, Bethune and Hershfelt were both still marveling at the speed at which they’ve gone from being amateurs with university courseloads to professionals preparing for a USWNT camp.
“I mean, it’s insane,” said Hershfelt, who as one of the six midfielders in Hayes’ squad may well be in line for a first cap. “I feel like if there was a time to expect it, I would have not expected it now… I was in college a couple of months ago.”
Bethune, who trails only USWNT star and perennial NWSL MVP contender Sophia Smith in total goals and assists on the season, said she was “grateful and blessed” to get the call-up.
However, showing the combination of confidence and focus that seems to be a job requirement for a national team playmaker, she noted that this moment was something she has had in mind for some time.
“I write out my goals,” explained the 23-year-old. “Believe it or not, I wrote this goal out last year while I was still [playing collegiately at] Georgia. So, six months later, and here we are.”
The speed of the call-ups may be a surprise, but then again, it’s hard to argue with results. Bethune made the NWSL Team of the Month for April/May, and (after a stat change on Tuesday) is now on seven assists, already the NWSL record for a rookie.
Hershfelt, meanwhile, has played 847 of a possible 900 minutes for Washington, helping the Spirit stay in the thick of the NWSL Shield race. The fifth overall pick has tacked on two goals while adding press resistance and physicality to the Washington midfield alongside Andi Sullivan.
Still, Bethune didn’t quite expect a U.S. Soccer email to arrive for this particular camp, admitting with a chuckle that she had made plans for this international window that will have to be put on hold.
Mandatory Credit: Jessica Alcheh-USA TODAY Sports
Hayes included Bethune on her roster as a training player rather than being eligible for a first cap. The Georgia native wasn’t deterred by that distinction, underlining the fact that getting into a USWNT training session is still a major opening to prove herself.
“Honestly, this is still an opportunity,” said the midfielder. “So, I’m gonna take what I’m given and just do the best that I can with what I have.”
Hershfelt, who was never once called in for a youth national team camp, admitted the call-up was “unexpected.”
“I’m not gonna lie, I cried a little bit,” laughed the 21-year-old. “I mean, you come in as a rookie, I’m like, ‘I’m gonna put my head down, I’m gonna work my butt off. See what happens.’ And I mean this is like, the best possible scenario.”
Both players said that at this point, most of what they know boils down to the basics of simply getting to camp: what flight to be on, when to be there, and so on. However, with Spirit teammates Aubrey Kingsbury, Casey Krueger, and Trinity Rodman going into the same camp, the group got together on Tuesday for a meeting that both Bethune and Hershfelt felt was very beneficial.
“I feel welcomed,” said Bethune. “As the new player, you kind of think the best thing to do is just keep to yourself, but I have people that I’m with every day that can allow me to get out of my shell… a big group is a lot better than just going in solo.”
Hershfelt credited Kingsbury for reminding the rookies that they don’t need to change themselves to thrive in the notoriously demanding USWNT environment.
“It sounds so simple and like, kind of corny, but just, be you,” is how Hershfelt characterized the advice. “You’re in, you got thrown in there for a reason. So don’t try to be something you’re not. You have strengths as a player, use them.”
Mandatory Credit: Daniel Bartel-USA TODAY Sports
Whether it’s the training sessions with the Spirit involving so many players with caps for the USWNT, Canada, and France, or games against teams stocked with what Bethune called “the best soccer players in the world,” both pointed out that they’ve had the chance to weigh their own prospects against USWNT regulars.
Bethune said her approach to that idea is “just correlating to who I’m playing in club [games] that have also been into camps,” and doing whatever she can to exceed that standard.
“It’s like, ‘Do I have the chance?'” explained Hershfelt. “From a personal standpoint, just being around those types of players…lifts us up as rookies.
“We were around college teams, that’s completely different than what we’re around now. And I honestly think it just kind of pushes you to kind of like set those standards for yourself every single training.”
For both Spirit youngsters, the pleasant surprise has sparked a lot of gratitude, but also hunger to keep proving themselves at higher levels.
“Just grateful and blessed that I have this opportunity. I’ve been working toward this since I was younger,” said Bethune. “I’m just glad to go in and show them what I can do.”
“This is insane. I’m just so thankful,” added Hershfelt. “I’m trying to look at it as only the beginning. I don’t want to be going in there being like, ‘Oh, I made it,’ because I feel like that’s how you get complacent. So, I’m kind of turning it around and being like, ‘yes, I can be happy in this moment. I’m so grateful to be given this opportunity,’ but [also] I want to put my head down and work.”
The Spirit say they’re “just scratching the surface” with the rookie playmaker after another golazo in NWSL play
It’s far too early to call the 2024 NWSL Rookie of the Year race, but Washington Spirit playmaker Croix Bethune has emerged as a clear frontrunner.
The Georgia native was pivotal as the Spirit claimed an impressive 2-0 home win over NJ/NY Gotham FC before 15,004 at Audi Field. Bethune scored a highlight-reel goal to give Washington a deserved first-half lead, and then an attempted audacious volley ended up winning a penalty kick that Ashley Hatch converted to seal the win.
“She did an amazing job today, again, a really good performance,” Spirit coach Adrián González told reporters after the match. “I think she’s very intelligent, she can identify [dangerous] spaces.”
Bethune added three successful dribbles and won four fouls, giving Gotham fits throughout the match. The 23-year-old has scored three times in five games to start her professional career, developing obvious on-field chemistry with U.S. women’s national team star Trinity Rodman in the process.
Bethune is now the team’s leading goalscorer, but there’s an added “wow” factor in her play that sets her current trajectory beyond being a name that reliably appears in box scores.
Her goal against Gotham involved the finer points of modern soccer, as she found a pocket early against an organized Bats side, showing the field sense and technique to dodge a collapsing defense.
Pair that with the precision and power to beat Cassie Miller from 24 yards, and you have the ingredients for a place on an NWSL Best 11, not to mention the USWNT.
Receives the ball in half space, turns, beats 2 players &smacks this shot w her weak foot on a crazy angle into the near post. PLUS she makes the mid fielder & center back make the decision on who steps to her. Prob 1 of the best rookies I’ve seen in @nwsl history. EMMA HAYES 👀 https://t.co/kSW2JbffYs
Bethune’s other goals were just as impressive: a perfectly-timed run to get wide open and cap off a 3-1 triumph over the Houston Dash on April 12, and an audacious bit of improv to juggle and juke through Bay FC’s defense and bag a last-gasp winner on March 23.
Washington’s veterans see Bethune every day, and they’re just as impressed as everyone else.
“I mean, right away, you could just tell she’s a special player, technically very gifted,” Spirit and USWNT defender Casey Krueger told reporters in a mixed zone interview. “I think as time has gone on, she’s just continuing to find the dangerous spaces. And then her confidence I think is just really through the roof. She’s been unbelievable.”
“She’s hit the ground running, which is pretty impressive,” added Andi Sullivan. “I think what I love about Croix is, she’s so creative, but she’s so strong, and she’s so smart. And she knows when to play simple, and she knows when to just do her own thing.”
Bethune, meanwhile, pivoted quickly away from what she did on the goal to highlight the sequence that came before it, which saw the Spirit methodically maneuver through Gotham’s midfield.
“It really started off of Andi’s pickup from defense,” said Bethune in a post-match press conference. “From her to pick it up and us switching it, and Hal [Hershfelt] finding me just to beat the player, and then…” — the rookie allowed herself just the slightest grin — “Strike it, back of the net.”
It’s telling how quickly the tone has changed in Washington, where a draft-day trade of the club’s previous playmaker Ashley Sanchez went down like a lead balloon with fans. 2024 figured to be a season of uncertainty with an influx of rookies and newcomers, and an unorthodox coaching situation with González hired from Espanyol to lead the side until Barcelona coach Jonatan Giráldez can join the side in June.
Just over three months later, Washington is not just (for the moment) top of the table after the win, but is rejuvenated, playing stylish soccer and getting the results to go with it. Thus far, Bethune is at the center of the show.
Despite all that, if you ask anyone with the Spirit, this is just the start for the team’s new young star.
“I’m so excited for her, because it’s early on, like we’re just scratching the surface with her,” summed up Krueger. “I think as the season goes on, she’s gonna continue to be an even bigger piece of the team.”
