2020 Washington Spirit season

Washington Spirit

2020 season
Head coach	Richie Burke
Stadium	Maryland SoccerPlex Audi Field Segra Field
NWSL	2nd
NWSL Playoffs	Cancelled
Challenge Cup	Quarterfinals
Top goalscorer	League: 4 Tied (1) All: 4 Tied (1)
Highest home attendance	0 (closed door)
Lowest home attendance	0 (closed door)
Average home league attendance	0 (closed door)
Home colors Away colors
←  2019 2021  →

The 2020 season was the Washington Spirit's seventh season, competing in the National Women's Soccer League, the top division of women's soccer in the United States.

The season was slated to begin on April 18, 2020 but was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Ultimately, the NWSL season was cancelled due to the pandemic. Th club participated in the NWSL Challenge Cup and the NWSL Fall series which were held in lieu of the regular season. The Challenge Cup was held behind closed doors at the neutral venue of Zions Bank Stadium in Herriman, Utah. The Spirit reached the Quarterfinals of the Challenge Cup and finished in third place in the Fall Series. Combined across all matches, the Spirit had the second best record of matches played during the 2020 season.

Club

Roster

The first-team roster of Washington Spirit. ^[1] Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 1 GK   USA Aubrey Bledsoe 2 FW   USA Ashley Sanchez 3 DF   USA Sam Staab 4 MF   USA Natalie Jacobs 5 DF   USA Brooke Hendrix 6 FW   USA Katie McClure 7 MF   USA Jaye Boissierre 8 MF   USA Megan Dougherty Howard 9 DF   USA Tegan McGrady 10 MF   USA Rose Lavelle (FP) 11 MF   USA Jordan DiBiasi 12 MF   USA Andi Sullivan 13 FW   USA Bayley Feist

No. Pos. Nation Player 14 DF   USA Paige Nielsen 16 MF   USA Averie Collins 17 FW   JPN Kumi Yokoyama (INT) 18 FW   USA Jessie Scarpa 19 DF   USA Dorian Bailey 20 FW   JAM Cheyna Matthews 21 GK   USA Katie Lund 22 FW   CAN Jenna Hellstrom (INT) 23 MF   USA Tori Huster 24 FW   USA Kaiya McCullogh 31 FW   USA Crystal Thomas 33 FW   USA Ashley Hatch

• (FP) = Federation player ^[2]
• (INT) = International roster player ^[3]

Team management

As of March 1, 2020 ^{[4] [5]}

Coaching staff
Head Coach	Richie Burke
Player/Opponent Analyst	Tom Torres
High Performance Coach	Michael Minthorne
Goalkeeper Coach	Ian McCaldon
Team Performance Coach	Christian Cziommer
Reserve Team Head Coach	Kati Jo Spisak
Athletic Trainer	Julie Beveridge

Competitions

Preseason

All preseason competitions were cancelled on March 12, 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States.

Regular season

Results summary

Overall								Home						Away
Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

Last updated: March 1, 2020.
Source: NWSLsoccer.com

Results by round

Round	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24
Ground	H	H	A	H	A	A	H	A	A	H	A	H	A	H	H	A	H	A	H	H	A	A	H	A
Result
Position

Updated to match(es) played on March 1, 2020. Source: NWSLsoccer.com
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

NWSL Challenge Cup

Main article: 2020 NWSL Challenge Cup

Standings

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	North Carolina Courage	4	4	0	0	7	1	+6	12
2	Washington Spirit	4	2	1	1	4	4	0	7
3	OL Reign	4	1	2	1	1	2	−1	5
4	Houston Dash	4	1	1	2	5	6	−1	4
5	Utah Royals FC (H)	4	1	1	2	4	5	−1	4

Source: NWSL
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers
(H) Host

Results by round

Round	1	2	3	4
Ground	N	N	N	N
Result	W	L	D	W
Position	2	4	5	2

Updated to match(es) played on July 2, 2020. Source: NWSLsoccer.com
A = Away; H = Home; N = Neutral; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

Preliminary round

Chicago Red Stars v Washington Spirit

June 27, 20201	Chicago Red Stars	1–2	Washington Spirit	Herriman, Utah
20:00	Gautrat 51'	Report	Lavelle 8' Hatch 46'	Stadium: Zions Bank Stadium Attendance: 0 (closed door)

Washington Spirit v North Carolina Courage

July 1, 20202	Washington Spirit	0–2	North Carolina Courage	Herriman, Utah
20:00		Report	L. Williams 50', 61'	Stadium: Zions Bank Stadium Attendance: 0 (closed door)

Portland Thorns FC v Washington Spirit

July 5, 20203	Portland Thorns FC	1–1	Washington Spirit	Herriman, Utah
20:00	Horan 69'	Report	Staab 77'	Stadium: Zions Bank Stadium Attendance: 0 (closed door)

Washington Spirit v Houston Dash

July 12, 20204	Washington Spirit	1–0	Houston Dash	Herriman, Utah
10:30	Feist 16'	Report	Naughton  13' Schmidt  45+2'	Stadium: Zions Bank Stadium Attendance: 0 (closed door)

Knockout round

Washington Spirit v Sky Blue

July 17, 2020Quarterfinals	Washington Spirit	0–0 (a.e.t.) (3–4 p)	Sky Blue	Herriman, Utah
		Report	Johnson  18' Viens  90+2'	Stadium: Zions Bank Stadium Attendance: 0 (closed door)
	Penalties
	Lavelle Hatch Staab Thomas Feist		Woldmoe Kawasumi Richardson Zerboni Eddy

NWSL Fall series

The Spirit were placed into the Northeast pod of the NWSL Fall series with the Chicago Red Stars and Sky Blue FC. The spirit played each team twice, once home and once away. Home Matches were hosted at Segra field without spectators. ^[6]

Standings

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Portland Thorns FC (C)	4	3	1	0	10	3	+7	10	Community Shield
2	Houston Dash	4	3	0	1	12	7	+5	9	Runners-up
3	Washington Spirit	4	2	1	1	5	4	+1	7	Third place
4	Sky Blue FC	4	2	0	2	6	7	−1	6
5	North Carolina Courage	4	1	2	1	8	10	−2	5
6	Chicago Red Stars	4	1	1	2	7	7	0	4
7	OL Reign	4	1	1	2	6	8	−2	4
8	Orlando Pride	4	0	2	2	5	8	−3	2
9	Utah Royals FC	4	0	2	2	3	8	−5	2

Source: NWSL
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers
(C) Champions

Washington Spirit v Sky Blue

September 5, 2020NWSL Fall Series	Washington Spirit	1–2	Sky Blue	Leesburg, Virginia
1:00 PM EDT	Hendrix   41' Neilsen 89'	Report	Onumonu 18' Purce 90+2'	Stadium: Segra Field Attendance: 0 (Closed Door) Referee: Danielle Chesky

Washington Spirit v Chicago Red Stars

September 12, 2020NWSL Fall Series	Washington Spirit	2–1	Chicago Red Stars	Leesburg, Virginia
12:00 PM EDT	Howard  28' Bailey  47' Feist 71' Scapa 90+3'	Report	Luebbert 26' McCaskill  27'  42'	Stadium: Segra Field Attendance: 0 (Closed Door) Referee: Joshua Encarnacion

Chicago Red Stars v Washington Spirit

September 26, 2020NWSL Fall Series	Chicago Red Stars	1–1	Washington Spirit	Bridgeview, Illinois
1:00 PM EDT	McCaskill 72'	Report	McClure  30' Hellstrom  63' Thomas 88'	Stadium: SeatGeek Stadium Attendance: 0 (Closed Door) Referee: Tori Penso

Sky Blue v Washington Spirit

October 3, 2020NWSL Fall Series	Sky Blue	0–1	Washington Spirit	Montclair, New Jersey
12:30 PM EDT	Richardson  56' Cudjoe  82'	Report	Yokoyama 50' Hellstrom  54' Howard  90+1'	Stadium: MSU Soccer Park at Pittser Field Attendance: 0 (Closed Door) Referee: Joshua Encarnacion

Transfers

In

Date	Player	Number	Position	Previous club	Fee/Notes
December 17, 2019	Jessie Scarpa	18	FW	North Carolina Tar Heels	Signed [7]
	Jenna Hellstrom	22	FW	KIF Örebro DFF	Signed [8]
December 18, 2019	Kumi Yokoyama	17	FW	AC Nagano Parceiro	Signed [9]
January 4, 2020	Brooke Hendrix	5	DF	West Ham United	Signed [10]
January 7, 2020	Jaye Boissiere	7	MF	Le Havre AC	Signed [11]
February 10, 2020	Ashley Sanchez	2	FW	UCLA Bruins	Signed [12]
	Natalie Jacobs	4	MF	USC Trojans	Signed Draft Pick [12]
	Averie Collins	16	MF	Washington State Cougars	Signed Draft Pick [12]
	Katie McClure	6	FW	Kansas Jayhawks	Signed Draft Pick [12]
	Kaiya McCullogh	24	MF	UCLA Bruins	Signed Draft Pick [12]
	Katie Lund	21	GK	Arkansas Razorbacks	Signed, Undrafted [12]

Out

Date	Player	Number	Position	New club	Fee/Notes
November 4, 2019	Arielle Ship	2	FW	Utah Royals FC	Place on Re-Entry Wire [13] [14]
	Megan Crosson	5	DF	Houston Dash	Place on Re-Entry Wire [13] [15]
	Chloe Logarzo	6	MF	Bristol City	Place on Re-Entry Wire [13] [16]
	Amy Harrison	7	MF	Western Sydney Wanders	Place on Re-Entry Wire [13] [17]
	Tiffany McCarty	16	FW		Place on Re-Entry Wire [13]
	Cali Farquharson	17	FW	KIF Örebro DFF	Place on Re-Entry Wire [13] [18]
	McKenzie Berryhill	18	DF		Place on Re-Entry Wire [13]
	Elise Kellond-Knight	28	MF	Brisbane Roar	Place on Re-Entry Wire [13] [19]
	Shea Yanez	30	GK	Santa Teresa	Place on Re-Entry Wire [13] [20]
January 16, 2020	Mallory Pugh	11	FW	Sky Blue FC	Trade for 4th, 13th, and 17th overall 2020 draft picks; 1st Round 2021 dract pick [21]
	Mallory Eubanks	22	FW

Draft picks

Draft picks are not automatically signed to the team roster. Only those who are signed to a contract will be listed as transfers in. Only trades involving draft picks and executed during the 2020 NWSL College Draft will be listed in the notes.

Player	Pos	Previous club	Notes	Ref
Ashley Sanchez	FW	UCLA Bruins	Round 1, Pick 4 (4th overall)	[22]
Natalie Jacobs	MF	USC Trojans	Round 2, Pick 4 (13th overall)	[23]
Averie Collins	MF	Washington State Cougars	Round 2, Pick 8 (17th overall)	[24]
Katie McClure	FW	Kansas Jayhawks	Round 3, Pick 5 (23rd overall)	[25]
Kaiya McCullough	FW	UCLA Bruins	Round 4, Pick 5 (32nd overall)	[26]

References

1. "Washington Spirit Roster". washingtonspirit.com. Retrieved March 1, 2020.
2. "NWSL releases 2020 allocated players list". NWSLsoccer.com. February 20, 2020. Retrieved March 1, 2020.
3. "Washington Spirit announces updated roster ahead of 2018 NWSL regular season". Washington Spirit. March 19, 2018. Retrieved March 23, 2018.
4. http://washingtonspirit.com/coaching-staff/ Spirit Coaching Staff Reference
5. http://washingtonspirit.com/team/front-office/ Spirit Executive Staff
6. Goff, Steven. "Washington Spirit will finally play a home match but not in the way it had hoped". Washington Post. ISSN   0190-8286 . Retrieved September 15, 2020.
7. "Washington Spirit Sign Forward Jessie Scarpa". Washington Spirit. December 17, 2019. Retrieved March 8, 2020.
8. "Washington Spirit Sign Forward Jenna Hellstrom". Washington Spirit. December 17, 2019. Retrieved March 8, 2020.
9. Declan Vargas (December 18, 2019). "Washington Spirit Sign Forward Kumi Yokoyama". Washington Spirit. Retrieved March 1, 2020.
10. Declan Vargas (January 4, 2020). "Washington Spirit Sign Defender Brooke Hendrix". Washington Spirit. Retrieved March 1, 2020.
11. Mason Covalier (January 7, 2020). "Washington Spirit sign Midfielder Jaye Boissiere". Washington Spirit. Retrieved March 1, 2020.
12. "Spirit sign all five 2020 draftees, add to keeper corps". Washington Spirit. February 10, 2020. Retrieved March 8, 2020.
13. "Washington Spirit announce roster updates for 2019 off-season". washingtonspirit.com. November 4, 2019. Retrieved March 8, 2020.
14. "TAKE THREE: Utah Royals FC grab 3 off NWSL Re-Entry Wire". Front Row Soccer. November 5, 2019. Retrieved March 8, 2020.
15. "Houston Dash Acquire DF Megan Crosson". Our Sporse Central. January 25, 2020. Retrieved March 8, 2020.
16. Aiden Beswick (January 24, 2020). "Women's Sport: Bristol City sign Chloe Logarzo from Sydney FC". GiveMeSport. Retrieved March 8, 2020.
17. Vince Rugari (October 23, 2019). "'I'm a Westie': Matilda Harrison crosses town for W-League homecoming". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved March 8, 2020.
18. Damall Svenskan (December 19, 2019). "Örebro värvar från amerikanska ligan" (in Swedish). Expressen. Retrieved March 8, 2020.
19. Jacob Windon (October 26, 2019). "Signing news: Kellond-Knight returns to Brisbane". Maltildas.com.au. Retrieved March 8, 2020.
20. "El Liberbank Santa Teresa Badajoz ficha a la guardameta estadounidense Jessica Yañez" (in Spanish). santateresabadajoz.com. January 8, 2020. Retrieved March 8, 2020.
21. "Washington Spirit send Mal Pugh to Sky Blue FC in blockbuster NWSL Draft trade". blackandredunited.com. January 16, 2020. Retrieved March 8, 2020.
22. "Washington Spirit select Ashley Sanchez fourth overall in 2020 NWSL Draft". Washington Spirit. January 16, 2020. Retrieved March 1, 2020.
23. "Washington Spirit select Natalie Jacobs 13th overall in 2020 NWSL Draft". Washington Spirit. January 16, 2020. Retrieved March 1, 2020.
24. "Washington Spirit select Averie Collins 17th overall in 2020 NWSL Draft". Washington Spirit. January 16, 2020. Retrieved March 1, 2020.
25. "Washington Spirit select Katie McClure 23rd overall in 2020 NWSL Draft". Washington Spirit. January 16, 2020. Retrieved March 1, 2020.
26. "Washington Spirit select Kaiya McCullough 32nd overall in 2020 NWSL Draft". Washington Spirit. January 16, 2020. Retrieved March 1, 2020.