At last, the 2025 season of the National Women’s Soccer League kicks off. Some interesting matches are currently underway with one of them being the Washington Spirit, who 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 the best part; she has been added to the list of players that are available for tonight’s season opener. So this eventually means that the 23-year-old stands in contention to play as well if required.
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.
Bethune has been upgraded to questionable for tonight’s #NWSL season opener, so she could make her return vs. Houston. https://t.co/SX2YUv58uc
— Jeff Kassouf (@JeffKassouf) March 14, 2025
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.
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