The race to finish above the playoff line continues to tighten as only the Chicago Stars are officially eliminated with just four matches to play. Gotham, Orlando, and Seattle all scored crucial victories, while Gift Monday netted the third hat trick of the season in historic fashion.

Gotham are heating up at the right time 

Gotham FC are clicking into gear at an opportune time. Their 3-0 drubbing of the Portland Thorns extends their unbeaten run to nine matches in all competitions. The result also included a series of firsts for Gotham.

In this week’s iteration of Anatomy, we’re bringing you a special edition. Let’s call this Anatomy of an Own Goal, courtesy of the Washington Spirit’s backline. The Spirit battled Angel City to a 2-2 draw on Thursday, September 18, and managed to secure a single point from the match after scoring 75% of the goals.

The own goal of interest was the third goal scored, and actually gave Angel City the lead in the 55th minute before Washington’s Croix Bethune saved the day with an equalizer in the 71st. 

Before we break our goal of interest down frame-by-frame, let’s take a look at the sequence in full.

https://twitter.com/AttackingThird/status/1968889986624700590

This one started right around midfield, with Angel City’s central defender Sara Doorsoun-Khajeh collecting the ball at her feet and facing up.

The German international drove forward into space before hitting new teammate Nealy Martin with a square ball. At this point, the sequence was almost stymied by the referee.

In her first outing, Abiodun gave the Spirit’s midfield a new dimension. The 21-year-old’s energy and positioning allowed the other midfielders to be more offensive-minded — Leicy Santos was able to push higher as a playmaker, and Hal Hershfelt to drive forward from box to box. Where Santos and Hershfelt brought creativity and movement, Abiodun provided balance: shielding the back line, recovering loose balls, and recycling possession. It was the unglamorous but vital role that allowed the Spirit to control the tempo and look more lively than in weeks past.

The former Pitt Panther acted as the conduit between the attacking and defensive line, able to both receive under pressure, turn, and play forward and break up plays. Abiodun constantly put the Spirit into good attacking transitions as well as defended her space in defensive transitions.

Seattle Reign set up in their 3-4-2-1 that shifts into a back five without the ball. That shape made it difficult for the Spirit to pull players out of position. Gonzalez rotated Kate Weisner and Gabrielle Carle to tempt the wing-backs out of position and use Trinity Rodman and Sofia Cantore to invite the center-backs into playing quicker, but Gonzalez quickly realized Seattle Reign had a spare player. This prompted Leicy Santos to push up and force the Reign defenders to go long.

This is where the Spirit started winning second balls and turning possession into attacking transitions in midfield, where Abiodun helped to sweep and pick up possession.
 

Abiodun covered the spaces you’d expect her to: the central attacking and defensive areas, especially on the left. In build-up, she focused on positioning herself in front of the center-backs, but as play progressed, she would patrol the central attacking areas to pounce on any loose balls and win back final third transitions.

In the above sequence, Abiodun put herself in the passing lane to block the pass into the Spirit’s defensive third. This interception shifts the momentum forward and eventually leads to Rodman getting on the ball.

In this example, Abiodun won the duel to retain possession centrally to control play again after the Reign won the long ball from goalkeeper Aubrey Kingsbury.

In possession, the Spirit set up in a 3-2 build-up structure with one of the three being Kingsbury. This setup was used to have both Hershfelt and Abiodun closer to receive and turn against the three Reign midfielders. Abiodun was as effective in possession as she was out of it; the Nigerian midfielder was confident on the ball and looked to turn her marker and force the Reign midfield to diverge centrally, opening the spaces out wide for Rodman and Cantore. 

Though the Reign didn’t set out to hyper-press the Spirit backline, there was enough to force the Spirit into playing it a bit quicker. It was only once the ball reached one of the defensive midfielders that Reign put pressure on the ball carrier. On occasion, when the Spirit beat that pressing line, they had enough space to drive at Reign’s back line with the wide areas a target to attack.

The screenshot shows that there was a monstrous amount of space between the Spirit center-backs and Reign’s attackers. The ball was rotated between the centre-backs and the goalkeeper until it was eventually progressed through to the midfield with a longer pass. Both defensive midfielders were crowded out by the three attackers and the central midfielder pushing up.

Abiodun’s positioning in this screenshot was her most common throughout the game, though she was equally comfortable dropping deep or pushing up behind the Reign central midfielder with and without the ball. It’s what made Abiodun’s performance stand out — the movement between the attackers to find better positions meant the Spirit were able to take a few more risks to get the ball into the final third. She wasn’t afraid to show for possession and constantly looked to receive and turn to play forwards. 

In this example, the Spirit are in a slow build-up sequence with the Reign using three to shadow-press the defenders, but eventually get pulled apart once the ball is played out to the right. That leaves Abiodun with extra space to receive from center-back Esme Morgan, then pirouette and evade Emeri Adames’ press coming in from behind.

The simple-seeming intricacies of Abiodun’s performance earned high praise from her head coach.

“Amazing performance,” Gonzales praised postgame. “[She is] the type of player that can play everywhere. We have a player that we can use in different [areas], she brings a lot of calmness and has patience [in play]. Defending, she’s very aggressive and has that physicality to cover a lot of space. [She’s also] very dynamic; when she goes higher, she can provoke [transitions] in the final third. We have a different profile that we didn’t have before.”

For the Spirit, this was one of their most consistent displays of the season — and Abiodun’s presence was undeniably central to it. As Gonzalez praised, her aggression, composure, and ability to cover space give Washington a different midfield profile than they’ve had all year. If the Spirit is to lock down second place and mount a serious playoff run, Abiodun may prove to be the difference-maker who turns potential into much-desired silverware.

In this week’s iteration of Anatomy of a Goal, we’re taking a look at a team that has been in playoff position for the entire season: the Washington Spirit. The team has weathered multiple challenges this year, including star forward Trinity Rodman‘s monthslong injury recovery. Now, she’s back to full capacity, having logged her first 90-minute performance of the year in the Spirit’s 2-0 win over the Reign in Week 19, and the Spirit are downright dangerous. Rodman scored two impressive goals, and we’ll hone in on the first, which ended up being the eventual game winner.

As always, let’s check out the goal in full before we break it down.

The playoff field has its first confirmed guest, and transfer rumors are swirling over Angel City. Meanwhile, the Sphere of Mediocrity grows ever larger.

Here’s how they shape up after most of Week 18:

Cream of the Crop

x-Kansas City Current (15-2-1, 46 pts; vs Courage, 2-0):  Temwa Chawinga did not score against the North Carolina Courage, but neither did the Courage. That leaves Chawinga with 11 goals while the Current have conceded only 10. Kayla Sharples continues to stay in the discussion for Defender of the Year, and even as it has taken Ally Sentnor some time to fully integrate into the attack, the defense has become a well-oiled machine, and the win over the Courage made the Current the first team to secure an official invite to the 2025 playoffs. The only bad news is that Esther Gonzalez scored for Gotham to edge ahead of Chawinga in the Golden Boot race.

The Spirit and Thorns were tied 1-1, and the Thorns were on the front foot, when Rodman came on in the 76th minute. It was her first appearance since April 12 when a back injury finally became too much to play through. It looked at one point like her return would be more about having played than having performed, especially when she appeared a beat slow in the 89th minute with a chance to chip Thorns keeper Mackenzie Arnold who was out of position following an aggressive touch.

Broadcasters Jenn Hildreth and Jordan Angeli had a lot to say about the “NWSL screenwriters” in the closing phase of the Washington Spirit’s 2-1 win over the Portland Thorns on Sunday. After all, Trinity Rodman managed to score the game-winner on only her ninth touch after entering her first match since April 12, the specter of a years-long back injury perhaps finally behind her.

Even Hollywood screenwriters would have considered scrapping such an ending for stretching the bounds of belief. Yet there Rodman was, lurking at the far post completely unmarked, ready to pounce on Courtney Brown’s cross after Croix Bethune flicked it on.

The Audi Field crowd of more than 16,000 naturally went wild. Rodman burst into tears. Her teammates enveloped her with love and support, knowing what that moment meant for her and for the club.

There is perhaps no position on the soccer pitch more critical yet less understood than the goalkeeper. It is a position that can lift supporters to their feet in one moment and destroy their nerves the next. It is a position that requires confidence, a little bit of brazenness, and a good pair of gloves.

But what goes into making a goalkeeper? Since starting her professional career in 2014, Washington Spirit keeper Aubrey Kingsbury has worked her way to the top of the National Women’s Soccer League goalkeeping mountain. A two-time NWSL Goalkeeper of the Year, Kingsbury served as team captain and led the Spirit to the 2021 NWSL Championship and the 2025 NWSL Challenge Cup.  As a shot-stopper, she has amassed 520 saves, fourth-most in league history.

I spoke with Kingsbury to dive deeper into the nuances of the position and how she mentally, physically, and spiritually approaches her work between the posts.

Spirit assistant coach Adrián González will take over as the new head coach of Washington. He was the interim coach last spring while the team waited for the arrival of Giráldez from FC Barcelona. González’s appointment will take effect July 18, ahead of the NWSL’s second half of the season.

The OL Lyonnes job opened after Joe Montemurro left his head-coaching position after one season in charge. Montemurro was announced as the new head coach of the Australia women’s national team on Monday in Australia.

Both the Washington Spirit and OL Lyonnes, which was recently rebranded from Olympique Lyonnais, are owned by Michele Kang through her multi-club company, Kynisca.

“Jonatan’s commitment to excellence and performance is unmatched,” Kang said in a statement. “His leadership, tactical acumen, and dedication to player development will propel our club to the next level, both domestically and internationally.

“We are grateful for his decision to remain part of the Kynisca family. He will play a crucial role in elevating OL Lyonnes to new heights for the players and fans.”

OL Lyonnes won an 18th league title in the past 19 seasons in France this year but got eliminated from the UEFA Champions League in the semifinals by eventual champions Arsenal, who beat Barcelona in the final on May 24.

The 33-year-old Giráldez won back-to-back UEFA Women’s Champions League titles with FC Barcelona in 2023 and 2024 before joining the Spirit. Barcelona beat OL Lyonnes in the 2024 final, and Giráldez was in his first season in charge of Barcelona when the team lost the 2022 Champions League final to OL Lyonnes.

“I am honored and excited to join OL Lyonnes,” Giráldez said in a statement. “The club’s history, ambition, and talented squad represent a fantastic opportunity, and I look forward to building on the club’s successes as it enters a new chapter.”

Giráldez will depart the Spirit having coached half a season each in 2024 and 2025. He guided the Spirit to a win over the Orlando Pride in March’s NWSL Challenge Cup, a one-off Community Shield-style game to open the season.

González compiled a 10-4-1 record as interim coach in the first half of the 2024 season, helping the Spirit finish second in the NWSL Shield race and runners-up in the playoffs. Washington’s 18 victories tied a single-season record with the Orlando Pride, who won the double last year.

“I am excited and honored to become the head coach of the Spirit,” González said. “Our focus remains on continuing to deliver performances that make our fans proud. I want to thank Jona for his leadership and friendship over the years, and I look forward to continuing to build upon the foundation we have established together.”

Prior to joining the Spirit, González was the head coach of RCD Espanyol in Spain, leading the team to promotion to Liga F, Spain’s top flight.

“Adrián has proven that he is ready for this role,” Kang said in a statement. “He knows the team and has earned this organization’s trust through his hard work and dedication. I am looking forward to watching what this team can achieve this season and beyond under his leadership.”

Washington sits in fourth place (6-3-1, 19 pts.) in the NWSL with three games remaining before the league’s summer break. The Spirit continue to deal with a long injury list, including the ongoing absence of United States star forward Trinity Rodman due to a chronic back injury.

Including interim coaches, the Spirit have had six different coaches in charge for more than one game since the end of 2021. González is among them and will soon begin his second stint — and first on a full-time basis.

Mark Krikorian left the team earlier this year after his contract expired for his role as president of soccer operations and general manager.

Kang also owns the London City Lionesses, who earned promotion to England’s top flight ahead of next season.

Both teams went back-and-forth with goals in quick succession before ending the first half with the Royals leading the Spirit 3-2 thanks to an own-goal by Washington’s Rebeca Bernal. That own goal was nearly a game-winner, too, as it wasn’t until the 12th minute of second-half stoppage time that the Spirit managed to notch the final equalizer. Before we break it down frame-by-frame, check out the entire sequence.