The 2026 Washington Spirit season is the team's fourteenth season as a professional women's soccer team. The Spirit play in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL), the top tier of women's soccer in the United States. The Spirit are led by head coach Adrián González and play their home matches at Audi Field.
Washington also competed in the knockout stage of the 2025–26 CONCACAF W Champions Cup, defeating Pachuca in the semifinals before losing 5–3 to Club América in the final.
Background
The Spirit entered 2026 after finishing as runners-up in the 2025 NWSL Championship. Head coach Adrián González returned for his second full season in charge. During the offseason, Washington signed forward Trinity Rodman to a new three-year contract through 2028.
Washington began the season without goalkeeper Aubrey Kingsbury and defender Casey Krueger, who were placed on maternity leave, while midfielder Andi Sullivan returned after missing most of the previous season due to injury.
Team Staff
+ Position Name
+ Position Name + Position Name
Players
NameDate of birth (age)Previous teamNotesGoalkeepers1Aubrey Kingsbury (captain)2018 Orlando Pride18Sandy MacIver2025 Manchester CityINT28Sara Wojdelko2026 Vanderbilt Commodores31Kaylie Collins2024 Orlando PrideDefenders3Casey Krueger2024 Chicago Red Stars5Élisabeth Tsé2026 Le Havre ACINT6Kate Wiesner2024 Penn State Nittany Lions9Tara Rudd2021 USC Trojans13Lucia Di Guglielmo2025 AS RomaINT14Gabrielle Carle2022 Kristianstads DFF24Esme Morgan2024 Manchester City26Paige Metayer2023 California Golden Bears35Madison Haugen2026 Sporting CPSTR–Alimata Bélem2026 SD EibarLOAMidfielders4Rebeca Bernal2025 C.F. Monterrey7Mélissa Bethi2026 FC NantesINT8Monique Ngock2026 FC Fleury 91INT10Leicy Santos2024 Atlético Madrid12Andi Sullivan2018 Stanford Cardinal17Hal Hershfelt2024 Clemson Tigers20Deborah Abiodun2025 Pittsburgh PanthersINT22Heather Stainbrook2024 Utah Valley WolverinesLOAForwards2Trinity Rodman202111Claudia Martínez2026 Club OlimpiaINT16Tamara Bolt2025 SC InternacionalINT19Rosemonde Kouassi2024 FC Fleury 91 Cœur d’Essonne21Gift Monday2025 UD TenerifeINT27Sofia Cantore2025 Juventus FCINT29Emma Gaines-Ramos2025 San Diego State Aztecs33Ashley Hatch2018 North Carolina Courage
(SEI) Season-Ending Injury, (INT) International Slot, (D45) 45-day injury list, (STR) Short-Term Injury Replacement, (LOA) Loaned out, (LIN) Loaned in, (ML) Maternity Leave
Competitions
NWSL
Regular season standings
Results summary
Results by matchday
Matches
CONCACAF W Champions Cup
The Spirit entered the knockout stage as winners of Group B and finished as runners-up in the final.
Knockout stage
Statistics
Appearances Starting appearances are listed first, followed by substitute appearances after the + symbol where applicable.
! colspan=14 style="background:#000000; ; color:#FFFFFF;" |Goalkeepers
! colspan=14 style="background:#000000; ; color:#FFFFFF;" |Defenders
! colspan=14 style="background:#000000; ; color:#FFFFFF;" |Midfielders
! colspan=14 style="background:#000000; ; color:#FFFFFF;" |Forwards
! colspan=14 |Players away from the club on loan:
Transactions
Transfers in DatePlayerPrevious clubFee/notesDecember 31, 2025 Lucia Di GuglielmoDF RomaTransferJanuary 13, 2026 Élisabeth TséDF Le HavreTransferJanuary 26, 2026 Claudia MartínezFW Club OlimpiaTransferJuly 9, 2026 Monique NgockMF FC Fleury 91TransferJuly 21, 2026 Alimata BélemDF SD EibarTransferJuly 23, 2026 Mélissa BethiMF FC NantesTransfer
Transfers out
Date Player New club Fee/notes January 6, 2026 Courtney Brown MF Utah Royals FC Contract terminated by mutual consent January 6, 2026 Brittany Ratcliffe FW Seattle Reign FC Contract terminated by mutual consent January 6, 2026 Ouleymata Sarr FW Free agent End of contract January 6, 2026 Kysha Sylla DF OL Lyonnes Return from loan January 12, 2026 Narumi Miura MF Utah Royals FC $180,000 in allocation money February 11, 2026 Croix Bethune MF Kansas City Current $100,000 in allocation money and $900,000 in transfer threshold funds August 11, 2026 Molly Skurcenski DF Agreed to a mutual contract termination
Loans out
DatePlayerDestination clubFee/notesFebruary 7, 2025 Tamara BoltFW Dallas Trinity FCRecalled from loan for 2026 preseasonJanuary 20, 2026 Heather StainbrookMF Dallas Trinity FCLoan for the entire yearFebruary 23, 2026 Sara WojdelkoGK DC Power FCLoan through May 31Jul 21, 2026 Alimata BélemDF SD EibarLoan through the end of the 2026 calendar year
References