Tag: Washington Spirit

Jaelene Daniels opts out of playing for NC Courage on Pride Night

Daniels won’t be in uniform for North Carolina’s Pride Night

North Carolina Courage player Jaelene Daniels will not be in uniform as her team celebrates Pride Night at Sahlen’s Stadium Friday night against the Washington Spirit.

Daniels had in 2018 declined a U.S. women’s national team call-up over her refusal to wear Pride-themed rainbow numbers, citing her Christian faith. According to the club, she has opted to sit out a critical game against the Washington Spirit over the same issue, a development first reported by WRAL.

“Jaelene will not be rostered tonight as she has made the decision to not wear our Pride jersey,” said the Courage in a team statement supplied to Pro Soccer Wire. “While we’re disappointed with her choice, we respect her right to make that decision for herself. We’re excited to celebrate the LGBTQIA+ community with our fans, players and staff tonight and look forward to hosting our first ever Pride Festival before kickoff.”

Daniels is eighth on the team in minutes played in the 2022 regular season, and had appeared in all nine of the Courage’s games coming into Friday’s match.

North Carolina had originally scheduled its Pride Night match for earlier in July, but that match against Angel City FC was postponed due to a Covid-19 protocol breach that also saw the club fined by NWSL.

Daniels had come out of retirement to re-sign with North Carolina this offseason, causing an intense backlash among supporters of the team and from around the NWSL. That outcry resulted in a team statement on the matter, with the Courage saying that the decision to bring Daniels back to the team “was not made lightly and included significant conversations between organization leadership and Jaelene. The priority expressed in those conversations is the safety of our players and maintaining an inclusive, respectful space for the entire team.”

Attendance at North Carolina games has drawn scrutiny, with North Carolina veteran Merritt Mathias drawing a connection between Daniels’ return and what she felt was fading support.

“Personally, I don’t think we’ve done a great job of that in the past years. And that is fair. I don’t think that has been any secret,” said Mathias back in May. “We didn’t have a Pride Night for three years, we didn’t wear a jersey. Everyone knows all these things and I think bringing back Jaelene was a decision made by the club and as a player who is part of the community, you have to work through those struggles but that is what a team is about. You have to be able to embrace people of all different religions, of all different views, of all different backgrounds.

“For me, I think it is really important that we have a voice as much as the club. That there is a group here that truly, truly loves and supports and is here for the LGBTQ community. I think that is a really important message to get out there, because we definitely miss you guys. We definitely miss our fans. They are a huge, huge reason why we were so successful for so many years. The way they had our back and the support we had day-in and day-out. I hope putting a good product on the field gets people back, but also knowing that you’re loved and believed in.

“From a team standpoint, we love and believe in our fans. For sure. We know how important they are and we definitely miss them. It is still a long season. Hopefully we can get a product out there that is winning and we are proud of. But I think this is a group that fans can be really proud of. For what they stand for and just the entertainment factor that they have and the beliefs that they have and the people that they are. If you don’t like one player, then there are 25, 26 other ones to choose from. Find someone you love.”

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Spirit miss out as teenage star Jaedyn Shaw signs with San Diego Wave

The U.S. youth national team star will begin her pro career in California

The San Diego Wave have announced the signing of teenage star Jaedyn Shaw to a contract through 2023, ending a saga that saw the Washington Spirit miss out on a player they wished to sign and who has been training with them for months.

The 17-year-old from Texas joined the Spirit in the preseason and has been training with the team starting in February.

The Spirit wished to sign Shaw directly, but the NWSL decided that the teenager would have to go through the league’s discovery process – with San Diego sitting first in the discovery order.

The Spirit aimed to trade with San Diego for Shaw’s rights, but a source has told Pro Soccer Wire that the Wave asked for up to $250,000, or $150,000 plus a first-round pick. However, a deal was unable to be completed before the California club announced the signing.

“First, I want to thank the Washington Spirit for providing me a professional training environment for the past six months,” the U.S. Under-20 star said in a statement. “I am very grateful for their support. I also want to thank the NWSL for facilitating a pathway for me to join the league and start my childhood dream of becoming a professional soccer player.”

As an under-18 player, Shaw was technically not allowed to enter the league until she turned 18. However, the league, as it did for Portland Thorns teenager Olivia Moultrie, granted an exemption last month.

“For a variety of reasons, including the fact that Shaw will turn 18 in November 2022 and has already taken the necessary steps to turn professional and forgo her NCAA eligibility, the NWSL has exercised its authority and amended its entry process to allow NWSL teams to select Shaw through the discovery process,” read the league’s statement on the matter.

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USYNT star Jaedyn Shaw’s path to NWSL to go through the league’s discovery process

Another USYNT player wants to go pro ASAP

Jaedyn Shaw, a highly-touted member of the U.S. under-20 national team who has spent a significant portion of 2022 training with the Washington Spirit, will be allowed to sign with an NWSL club without having to go through the College Draft.

However, in a statement Thursday, the league said that Shaw will have to go through the NWSL discovery process, a mechanism that exists for the league to maintain parity, and that has been used as an exemption to its minimum age requirement in the recent past. The discovery process for Shaw will be held on July 7.

Shaw, like Portland Thorns midfielder Olivia Moultrie, would normally have had to wait until the next College Draft after her 18th birthday, which comes in November. With Shaw looking to sign a professional deal quickly, the NWSL cited its ability “to amend its rules in its discretion,” instituting a one-off Discovery Process to sort out what club has league priority to sign the attacker.

“For a variety of reasons, including the fact that Shaw will turn 18 in November 2022 and has already taken the necessary steps to turn professional and forgo her NCAA eligibility, the NWSL has exercised its authority and amended its entry process to allow NWSL teams to select Shaw through the discovery process,” read the league’s statement on the matter.

The statement further said that any team that wants to be involved in the discovery process must spell out its plans in terms of “how they would comply with the safeguarding rules related to minors until Shaw turns 18” in order to participate.

“I have spent the first two months of my tenure as commissioner of the NWSL reviewing all of our policies and procedures to ensure our league is set up for success, now and in the future,” said NWSL Commissioner Jessica Berman in the statement. “This is a special circumstance that I believe requires us to show flexibility in how we execute our policies, and as a practical matter, is part of our ongoing review of our age restriction policy. In the interim, we have determined that our best course of action is to allow Jaedyn Shaw to join the NWSL as part of this discovery process.”

NWSL maintained that its age restriction policy is still intact, with requests for exemptions to it to be “reviewed on a case-by-case basis.”

Shaw, a standout from Texas youth club Solar SC, joined the Spirit in the preseason and trained with the team from early February through at least the end of March. One source with knowledge of how those sessions went told Pro Soccer Wire that she drew at least some comparisons to USWNT star and 2021 NWSL Rookie of the Year Trinity Rodman.

Washington head coach Kris Ward had spoken a handful of times throughout the spring about the club’s ambitions to work with NWSL on a pathway for them to sign Shaw directly, rather than going through a normal player acquisition mechanism.

That was a different prospect than how a situation like this played out the last time a minor pushed to join an NWSL club. Moultrie ended up bringing a suit against the NWSL on anti-trust grounds to push for the chance to play in the league, with the outcome eventually being a discovery process that saw OL Reign acquire Moultrie’s NWSL playing rights and then trade them to Portland. Moultrie has since become a regular part of Portland’s rotation, making 19 appearances in all competitions for the Thorns since signing her contract in June.

Speaking today to reporters, Ward said that even though the push for a different method in these cases didn’t succeed, the Spirit would still be interested in signing Shaw via the discovery process.

“We’ll have to, I guess not adjust the strategy, but roll with the parameters that they have played out, and see if we can work something out,” said Ward. “We obviously think that she’s talented, and we would like for something to work out, but it’s not always that simple. And so, we’re just gonna have to start to have those conversations, now that we have this news, and see what is out there to be able to accomplish.”

The Spirit and NWSL have had their conflicts in the recent past, but Ward said that while these discussions didn’t go the way he’d have preferred, he didn’t feel the league approached Washington’s position in an adversarial manner.

“I don’t think that (NWSL) were difficult, or…obtuse in any way,” said Ward. “It’s their understanding that the landscape is changing and shifting.”

Ward characterized the NWSL’s perspective as wanting “to make sure that the process was carefully thought out, and that it was fair, because American sports is all about equality, or trying to create a level playing field for teams, whether or not that actually exists. It’s not an enviable position to be in for them, to say ‘okay, we’re now having to face this new reality.'”

“I think they just needed to make sure that logistically, legally, process-wise, all that kind of stuff, that they had put together something that was reasonable and allowed for draft order and things like that,” added Ward.

While he couldn’t make direct comparisons to how things played out with Moultrie, Ward felt that the league must prepare a process for more talented youngsters to come to a point where they’re choosing between staying in the NWSL or looking to European clubs.

“Jaedyn is not alone in this situation of being a minor who is looking to play professionally. I know that there’s a handful of kids around the league with different teams,” said Ward. “The day for Jaedyn is obviously here, but the day for those people who are now coming after her, it’s not going to be a 10-year gap. It’s not going to be a 10-month gap. Those players, they’re out there. They’re nearby… How does the league go through and start to create a template for that, so they can address these other situations as they arise? Because, it’s coming.”

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Andi Sullivan, Aubrey Kingsbury ‘in it together on both fronts’ on Spirit-laden USWNT

United Spirit, Washington National Team

The U.S. women’s national team begins its most important task of 2022 early next month at the CONCACAF W Championship, and will do so with a heavy Washington Spirit influence.

Seven of the 23-player USWNT roster Vlatko Andonovski assembled earlier this week for that tournament and friendlies against Colombia play for the 2021 NWSL champions. No other club contributed more than four players to this squad, and four NWSL teams were shut out entirely.

In an interview conducted over email with Pro Soccer Wire, Spirit co-captains Aubrey Kingsbury and Andi Sullivan both said that there are clear benefits to the kind of familiarity that fosters that can be applied with the USWNT and in NWSL.

“We all have high aspirations, not just for the Spirit, but representing our country in the upcoming World Cup and Olympics,” said Kingsbury. “We’re kind of in it together on both fronts, the national team and the Spirit.”

“I do think it’s beneficial any time you get players that know each other and are familiar with each other, which is very common with the national team,” added Sullivan, who noted that at the USWNT level, there tends to be some familiarity from youth national team play, college soccer, or the frequency of seeing one another in NWSL play.

While much has been made of the Spirit’s emergence over the past three seasons, Kingsbury and Sullivan both joined the team in 2018, a disastrous season in which the club set the NWSL record for minutes without a goal twice, and won just two times in 24 games.

It’s been a long, difficult road from those tough times to becoming the team supplying over 30% of the USWNT squad for a competitive tournament.

“It’s incredible,” said Kingsbury, who after three seasons on the fringes of the national team appears to have carved out a more secure niche. “Having seven players on the national team, it’s an intense, competitive training environment (with the Spirit). Now when I go to the national team it’s like ‘Oh, this is the Washington Spirit here!'”

“Teams that are making playoffs, making finals, winning finals, you look good,” said Sullivan. “I think that speaks to the culture of the Spirit and what we’ve been able to do the last year especially given a lot of difficulties.”

Looking ahead to the W Championship, Sullivan says she’s been paying attention to the growth of Liga MX Femenil, which has been drawing big crowds and improving the Mexican women’s national team. In typical USWNT fashion, though, she sees the challenge of a hostile environment as one to look forward to.

“I’m looking forward to playing against a rowdy crowd. I think we’re used to rowdy crowds in the U.S. but obviously they’re for us,” explained Sullivan. “I’m looking forward to feeling that heat both from the climate and from the Mexican fans.”

Despite the similarity in club background, Kingsbury and Sullivan enter this camp in different positions. Kingsbury has only recently emerged as a possible back-up to Alyssa Naeher, getting her first cap in April after numerous call-ups and camp invites.

For Kingsbury, the competition to stay in the frame is demanding.

“It’s definitely a very competitive environment,” said Kingsbury of being in USWNT camps. “The standards are high. We get there early, (goalkeepers) start training before the rest of the team does… It’s a fun, challenging environment to be in because we all demand perfection.”

Sullivan’s situation is a bit different. She has emerged as the USWNT’s first-choice defensive midfielder, starting 10 of the team’s last 11 games and receiving hearty backing from Andonovski on Friday. However, she isn’t taking her place for granted.

“I’m obviously more excited to be getting more playing time and more starts with the national team. It’s great to have opportunities but it doesn’t guarantee anything,” said Sullivan. “My role with the national team is to do whatever the team needs and I feel like that’s the same with the Spirit. ‘Whatever best way I can serve the team that will help the team win’ is always the approach I’m gonna take.”

In terms of what they expect out of the USWNT over the next few weeks, the answer is simple: win.

“Just given the expectations this team has for itself, first place is the only acceptable outcome,” said Sullivan. “Hopefully, we can focus on the little things that will make that happen and have everything else take care of itself.”

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Orlando Pride, down 2-0, strike twice in stoppage time to get draw vs Washington Spirit

A staggering late comeback for Orlando got them a point, and into the NWSL history books.

Darian Jenkins scored the latest regular season goal in NWSL history, helping the Orlando Pride snatch a 2-2 draw against the Washington Spirit on Friday night after entering second half stoppage time down by two.

The Spirit held a 2-0 lead as six minutes of stoppage time were signaled by the fourth official, with Trinity Rodman scoring yet another highlight reel goal in the first half, and Ashley Hatch adding her seventh goal against Orlando in her last eight appearances against the Pride.

However, just as the game appeared over and done with, Orlando fought back. Rookie midfielder Mikayla Cluff played a crucial pass before arriving late to head in a cross from Jordyn Listro in the fifth minute of stoppage time, giving the Pride a lifeline.

Then, with the Spirit not able to fully clear the ball into the Orlando half, the Pride stunningly struck again. Multiple Washington blocks ended up going directly to an Orlando player, and late sub Julie Doyle played a pass to Jenkins at the back post. From there, Jenkins made some NWSL history, burying a low shot 7:47 into stoppage time to somehow give Orlando a share of the points.

That stands as an NWSL record for the latest goal scored in a regular season game.

Watch Orlando’s dramatic late goals

Washington Spirit coach Kris Ward fined for criticizing NWSL referees

A long-standing NWSL issue is coming to a head.

Washington Spirit head coach Kris Ward and the club itself have both been fined for public criticism of NWSL referees.

The Spirit’s fine as a club came for social media posts vocally backing Ward’s comments. The second-year head coach’s remarks came after a 1-1 draw with the Portland Thorns last week, but were not the first such statements from Washington this season. While Ward was initially addressing an Emily Sonnett goal that was called back, he transitioned into looking over the course of the season, citing multiple incidents sprinkled throughout the Challenge Cup and regular season.

“You want to have talented players on the field, which, people tune in to watch Ashley Sanchez. People tune in to watch Trinity Rodman,” said Ward in post-game remarks to reporters. “If you’re not going to do your job in protecting them, that’s not going to be the case.

“The league at some point has to make a decision as to what they want to do, because this is what continues to happen. It’s so frustrating to watch it time and time and time again, and listen to the absolute nonsense that comes back from [the league].”

An injury-filled season for the Spirit

Ward’s frustration may stem from injuries he’s seen the Spirit pick up this season. Washington has been without at least five players due to injury in every game it has played this season, and while many of those involve long-term issues, several have come directly from collisions in games.

Sonnett missed three Challenge Cup games with broken ribs in the club’s first competitive match of the year, while Tara McKeown suffered a foot injury less than a week later that has kept her off the field for over a month. Ward cited the Sonnett injury specifically in the comments that drew the fine, saying: “Sonnett gets kicked in the ribs in the Orlando game, broken ribs in the very first game, and the league’s response is, ‘Well, she finished the game.’ Are you out of your mind, that that’s your response when someone clearly gets kicked twice and has broken ribs? Your response is that she finished the game? Because she’s a warrior, she’s strong, and you’re not going to do anything to protect her.”

More recently, Dorian Bailey has missed two games with a cheekbone injury after a hard collision against Angel City FC. Ashley Hatch, who has played through some hard tackles while also being fined by the league for a high foot of her own in the Challenge Cup final, left this past weekend’s draw at OL Reign after a first-half clash of heads, with Washington using a concussion substitution to remove her.

NWSL’s referee concerns

Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Ward said he had not heard from the league in terms of how the issue might be addressed since receiving his fine, but had spoken with Alex Prus, the director of PRO2 (the tier of referees from PRO that call NWSL and USL Championship matches), about the specifics of the goal called back in Portland.

The Challenge Cup final ended up seeing multiple players substituted due to injury, with Jordan Baggett needing a brief examination at a nearby hospital and North Carolina Courage forward Kerolin suffering an ankle injury after a tackle from Sam Staab inside the box went uncalled.

Ward’s remarks may be specific to this season, but they’re also the latest chapter in a years-long complaint that players, coaches, and fans have had about NWSL. Namely, the league is widely seen as incredibly physical, while also being inconsistently officiated.

A report from ESPN earlier this week noted that, through the Professional Referees Organization (PRO), NWSL referees are paid a lower per-game rate than they would receive working an MLS or USL Championship match. The same report noted that NWSL only covers a small portion of the financial burden of keeping PRO in business.

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The NWSL Challenge Cup final was ugly, and the league’s players noticed

The game was supposed to be a showcase, but instead it again revealed some of the NWSL’s player-safety challenges

The NWSL Challenge Cup final was supposed to be a showpiece event, but the league may not have been pleased that a national TV audience witnessed some of the ugliness in Saturday’s match.

The North Carolina Courage defeated the Washington Spirit 2-1 in the finale of the preseason tournament, but the final score seemed secondary after age-old issues of refereeing and player safety again stole the headlines.

The most prominent incident came near the end of the game when the Spirit’s Jordan Baggett scarily collided with an opponent and stayed down. With Spirit medical staff on the pitch, players took it upon themselves to get a stretcher out to their teammate quicker.

Spirit star Trinity Rodman was far from pleased after the game.

Two more incidents left Courage players fuming. Courage defender Abby Erceg was caught with a stud to the chest, but Erceg and goalkeeper Katelyn Rowland said the incident went unpunished because the referee (wrongly) determined it was the ball, not Ashley Hatch’s boot, that caught Erceg.

The Spirit again got away with a potentially serious challenge when Sam Staab’s tackle in the box on Kerolin was not deemed to be a penalty despite replays clearly showing Kerolin’s ankle being rolled up under Staab’s tackle.

Courage defender Kayleigh Kurtz, among others, was left fuming.

Unlike in most professional men’s leagues, NWSL referees do not have the ability to utilize VAR, which could have reversed the decisions in the incidents with Erceg and Kerolin.

NWSL players past and present weigh in

With player safety on the pitch clearly still an issue, a number of NWSL players, both current and former, took to social media after the game to voice their displeasure with what they saw.

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