At last, the 2025 season of the National Women’s Soccer League kicks off. Some interesting matches are currently underway one of which features the Washington Spirit. They traveled to Texas to face the Houston Dash. While either side would be keen to secure a victory in the opening match, the Spirit has the extra confidence to win. Well, it’s not because of the NWSL Challenge Cup success, but mainly because of receiving a major injury boost.

The protagonist is none other than Croix Bethune. Thankfully, within the eleventh hour, the club was able to remove her from the season-ending injury list to add her to the active roster. That’s not even the best part. According to ESPN’s Jeff Kassouf, “Bethune has been upgraded to questionable for tonight’s #NWSL season opener, so she could make her return vs. Houston.”

The 2024 Rookie of the Year had unfortunately torn her meniscus just after having won the gold medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics. That saw her get ruled out of action, forcing her to miss out on the rest of the 2024 campaign. Precisely, Bethune ended up missing the final nine matches of the regular season, followed by the playoffs and the Championship final.

She even missed out on the recent NWSL Challenge Cup final where the Spirit finally got their revenge over Orlando Pride. Having first lost the Shield by a deficit of four points, followed by the Championship due to a narrow goal, they finally secured a crucial silverware win in the preseason.

On an individual note, Bethune had a remarkable season. She tied Tobin Heath‘s single-season assist record after having tallied five goals and ten assists. The attacking midfielder was not only named the NWSL’s inaugural Midfielder of the Year but also made the cut for the Best XI First Team member.

Interestingly, prior to Croix Bethune, the Spirit had also secured a huge injury boost in the form of Trinity Rodman. The USWNT forward had been facing severe back issues in the final days of the last season. That saw her go AWOL throughout the preseason. However, the Challenge Cup saw her on the bench, even though she wasn’t subbed on.

Even in today’s game vs Houston Dash, the daughter of Dennis Rodman is on the bench again. Whether Trinity or Bethune will feature in today’s game at Shell Energy Stadium remains uncertain. But speaking of injuries, there’s still one area that the Spirit hasn’t figured out yet.

One injury remains unaddressed for Washington Spirit

While Croix Bethune saw herself get removed from the SEI list, defender Paige Metayer was added to the 45-day injury (D45) list. The decision comes as she continues rehabilitating a knee injury sustained during preseason. Additionally, the designation will be applied retroactively to her injury date in February.

The defender is now entering her third professional season. Remarkably, in her first two years, she recorded five goals and two assists across all competitions. Last season alone, she clinched over 23 appearances, notching a goal and an assist each. However, in the meantime, the Washington Spirit would have to count on their other defensive pieces.

Then again, going forward in the new season, let’s hope that Jonatan Giraldez and Co. don’t lose any more of their star players. Otherwise, it may affect their chances of all the goals that they surely must have outlined to achieve this year.