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 Current’s season has been fluid, with various players all excelling and playing in great form simultaneously. Striker Temwa Chawinga has carried her scoring form from 2024 into 2025, already with 11 goals. At the other end of the pitch, Kansas City has conceded just 10 goals, with defender Kayla Sharples emerging as their defensive anchor. In attack, Michelle Cooper and Bia Zaneratto add directness, while Debinha provides the creative spark to tie the forward line together.

However, the midfield engine room has been a major reason for their success, and at the heart of that is their young defensive midfielder, Hutton. She acts as the conduit between the attacking and defensive line, constantly putting the Current into good attacking transitions and defending her space in defensive transitions.

Hutton’s rise in the league hasn’t gone unnoticed (she now has six caps with the U.S. women’s national team since her senior international debut on February 23, 2025, after making her professional debut in 2024), but appreciating her true tactical talents is often drowned out by the more flashy players like Chawinga and Cooper. For her part, Hutton adds bite and ball-recycling to a team full of technical quality; holding the midfield together is a shared task between her and Lo’eau LaBonta.

Without the ball, it’s Hutton’s proactivity and hunger that stand out. The modern defensive midfielder is expected to be an all-round player, and Hutton is already showcasing her on-the-ball talents. In essence, she’s a midfield anchor primarily tasked with winning back possession and serving as a disciplined shield for the backline — a tempo-controlling midfielder who links play through and between the lines for more creative players. 

Her tackling, recoveries, and interceptions reflect her reading of the game, and though there are lapses in concentration at times, her recovery and athleticism are impressive. 

The midfielder’s data shows balance. Hutton ranks in the mid-70s and 80s in most of her key metrics like tackles + interceptions, blocks, take-ons, touches, and progressive passes, which are the traits you look for in a modern holding midfielder. 

In their game against North Carolina Courage on April 26, the Current were pressing North Carolina high up the pitch with Chawinga closing down the full-back. Still, the Courage found a way through with one sweeping pass to their striker. In this moment, Hutton is already positioned slightly higher to keep the lines compact and allow KC to keep play happening in the final third. Once the ball is passed through, she runs towards the line of the pass, and though she doesn’t make the interception, she immediately dispossesses the opposition striker cleanly and gets the ball out to Hailie Mace, who drives forward, back into the Courage’s defensive half.

Hutton ranks in the high 80th percentiles for tackles and interceptions, and her volume is among the league’s best. At just 18, she still has moments where a missed challenge leaves space exposed, but that’s a natural part of her development.

However, Hutton has shown an immense capacity to cover her position and make enough tackles and interceptions that put the Current back into attacking transitions, as seen here against the Portland Thorns.

In this game on August 23, the Portland Thorns were playing out from the back, with KC Current trying to get close to tracking each pass. As the ball progressed, Hutton had to track back from a higher position into a more defensive one to cover for center-back Sharples’ push towards the ball carrier. Hutton is the one to mark that space and cover for her defender, and managed to do so by intercepting the pass into the onrushing Thorns midfielder.

The way LaBonta and Hutton are set up is very interchangeable positionally. Hutton will often start slightly ahead of LaBonta, being the aggressor, and because of her pace, covers for LaBonta’s lack of mobility in comparison. LaBonta will play the riskier, more creative passes to get the offensive line moving, but Hutton’s secondary role is to recycle possession as she patrols close by, showing for the ball to keep possession ticking.

The clip below shows one example of the Current’s style of building out from the back. The first point to note is LaBonta’s and Hutton’s positioning, with the former positioned deeper than Hutton but placed between the lines of Courage’s pressure. Once LaBonta breaks through the press with her pass into Debinha, Hutton is immediately available for the wall pass and takes a quick touch (albeit a heavy one) into Chawinga that puts the Current through into an attacking transition sequence.

However, Hutton isn’t all about quick link-up play — she also excels at slowing down and orchestrating play when there is no obvious pass forward. She is a high-volume passer, averaging 42.84 passes per 90 minutes (according to FBref). While this only places her in the 68th percentile, it is extremely similar to elite defensive midfielder Sam Coffey‘s 45.99 passes per 90, with Coffey being a more established ball progressor and passer. These passes aid in recycling possession and ensuring that KC doesn’t needlessly lose the ball and can re-adjust their shape.

The above example from the game on August 1 against Racing Louisville shows the Current pushing through the middle. But we see that both Chawinga and Zaneratto are marked by Louisville’s compact back four. Instead of playing into that, which has a high probability of losing possession, Hutton turns and plays it back to her defense to reset play and find an alternate solution.

Hutton is still a bit raw, but every game showcases her elite potential to become a world-class defensive midfielder. She is so far an effective and invaluable member of the midfield who complements LaBonta’s style, which has unquestionably aided in propelling KC Current to the top of the league.

The Kansas City Current’s mid-August matchup at home against the Orlando Pride was the blockbuster fixture of the back end of the National Women’s Soccer League season. It was the latest meeting in a burgeoning rivalry that promised great entertainment, given the superstar names on each team. The game unfortunately turned into a cagey 0-0 draw, likely due in part to the triple-digit heat index that ultimately delayed kickoff for more than three hours.

The match wasn’t without its moments, none more so than the season-ending injury to Barbra Banda that overshadowed proceedings for Orlando Pride. Banda exited the contest early in the first half, which swung momentum away from Orlando. Banda was able to walk down the tunnel and later appeared on the bench smiling next to defender Rafaelle, but now that we know that her race is run, questions must be asked about Pride’s attacking output in general without their star striker. All in all, how did they fare against KC Current, and what does the transfer of Lizbeth Ovalle give them in Banda’s absence?

While the Wave are decent candidates for “most improved” team this year, Louisville’s push for a first-ever top-eight finish is the more compelling development. San Diego head coach Jonas Eidevall has benefited from the tactical groundwork laid by Landon Donovan last year and the signing of quality players such as Kenza Dali. He is a bit of a lucky general, which is no bad thing. By contrast, in Louisville, Bev Yanez has worked with largely the same squad as last year, finding small but essential improvements.

In this week’s iteration of Anatomy of a Goal, we’re focusing on the Chicago Stars. In Week 17, though, the Stars may as well be referred to as Ludmila and friends. The Brazilian international managed a perfect hat trick in just over 10 minutes after Chicago found themselves facing a multi-goal deficit for the second time in four days. The hat trick is now the fastest in National Women’s Soccer League history. 

While our Anatomy pick is usually a team-centric effort, we’d be remiss to overlook this work of art. Let’s break down the first of Ludmila’s historic scores from Friday night against the North Carolina Courage.

Racing again delivered an energetic, disciplined performance with effective counter-attacks that limited Orlando’s clear chances. Missing Marta but still fielding the electric Barbra Banda, Orlando remained a side packed with pace, power, and precision. Banda’s threat in behind is a problem for most defenses, yet Racing’s structure limited much of her influence.

Two saved penalties from Racing goalkeeper Jordyn Bloomer kept them ahead until stoppage time, when Orlando finally broke through to earn a point and a result that was incredibly frustrating for Racing, considering the sheer effort and tenacity they displayed until the very end. Let’s break down how Racing’s defensive shape kept the Pride at bay.

When National Women’s Soccer League games resumed following the mid-season break, Bay FC and Houston Dash played to a dramatic 2-2 draw at PayPal Park. The game on August 2 served as a prime example of Bay FC’s position in the table and showcased both the good and poor qualities that the San Francisco-based team has displayed this season.

Bay’s defensive lapse — allowing an unmarked Sophie Schmidt to equalize late — reflected their inconsistency thus far. But their attack, driven by creative midfield play and wide combinations, showed promise. Their offense combines power, pace, and creativity, but it’s midfielder Taylor Huff’s ascendancy as Bay’s prime creative attacker that has become a significant factor in their success.

The 22-year-old American has been a revelation since signing her first professional contract in January out of Florida State University. Huff has become the glue that controls and feeds the attacking system.

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.

It was a midsummer’s dream for fans of women’s soccer, as the month of July played host to three memorable continental tournaments. Common throughlines ran through the CAF Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON), UEFA Women’s Euro, and CONMEBOL Copa America Feminina, such as dramatic and well-attended finals, epic penalty shootouts, familiar champions, and gripping matches from start to finish. However, as a brighter spotlight shines on the international women’s game, it also illuminates the disparities and inequities that persist within.

On-field action

The winner’s medals belonged to familiar faces, as Nigeria completed Mission X with their 10th continental title, England overcame Spain to claim their second straight Euro, and Brazil outlasted Colombia to lift their ninth trophy.