Washington Spirit Signs Six National Team Replacement Players

Washington Spirit  |   June 17, 2022
Washington Spirit Signs Six National Team Replacement Players Featured Image

Washington, D.C., (06/17/2022) – The Washington Spirit has signed six players to the active roster as national team replacements (NTRs), the club announced today. The players will fill out the roster in the absence of the Spirit’s seven USWNT players and one Mexican women’s national team player.

Among the NTRs are midfielder/forward Brenna Connell, forward Jamia Fields, midfielder Andrea Frerker, forward Audrey Harding, midfielder Katie Murray and midfielder Marissa Sheva. Both Harding and Sheva were most recently classified as injury replacement players but will now be reclassified as NTRs.

Brenna Connell comes to the Spirit from BIIK Kazygurt in Kazakhstan. A native of Olney, Maryland, Brenna played four seasons at George Mason University. In her career with the Patriots, Connell tallied 60 appearances and 2,065 minutes played in addition to one goal and seven assists. Since her college days, Connell has also played professionally in Israel and Germany.

Jamia Fields joins the Spirit from the Houston Dash. She attended Florida State University from 2011 to 2014, playing four seasons with the Seminoles. During her tenure in Tallahassee, Fields assisted on 30 goals and earned Second Team All-ACC honors as well as ACC and College Cup All-Tournament honors in 2014. Following her college career, Fields turned pro and has since played with the Western New York Flash, Orlando Pride and Houston Dash of the NWSL and Arna-Bjørnar and Avaldsnes IL of Toppserien, the top-tier women’s soccer league of Norway.

Andrea Frerker played college soccer at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. In her five seasons with the Cougars, Frerker scored 11 goals and added 13 assists. In 2018, she earned Second Team All-Ohio Valley Conference honors and, in 2021, made the conference’s First Team and was named the league’s Midfielder of the Year.

Audrey Harding attended UNC-Wilmington from 2017 to 2021. The northeast Ohio native earned First Team All-CAA honors in each of her final two seasons at UNCW and Second Team honors in 2019. Harding scored 23 goals and had 20 assists in her five seasons in Wilmington, seeing playing time in 68 matches, 35 of which were starts. Harding’s 2021 season proved to be her best statistically, with eight goals and seven assists in 13 starts and the most minutes played of her college career.

Katie Murray arrives in DC from Dutch club PEC Zwolle. In her four seasons at the University of Illinois, Murray tallied 13 goals and four assists for the Fighting Illini. Murray also earned Second Team All-Big Ten and First Team All-Tournament honors in 2018. Following her career at Illinois, Murray played professionally in Finland and Spain before landing in the Netherlands.

Marissa Sheva earned Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week honors twice in her final two seasons at Penn State. In her senior season, Sheva netted three game-winning goals for the Nittany Lions. Sheva tallied 13 goals and nine assists in her four seasons in State College, seeing playing time in 92 matches, 60 of which were starts. Sheva previously played for the NWSL’s Utah Royals FC in 2020 after a brief tenure with Deportivo Alavés Gloriosas in Primera División, the top-tier women’s league in Spain.

During the summer FIFA window, the Spirit will play three matches without its international players. Washington will travel to southern California to play San Diego Wave FC on Sunday, July 3 before hosting the Kansas City Current at Segra Field on Sunday, July 10 and the Orlando Pride at Audi Field on Sunday, July 17.

About The Washington Spirit

The Washington Spirit is the professional women’s soccer team based at Segra Field in Leesburg, Va and Audi Field in Washington, D.C. Launched in 2012, the Spirit play in the National Women’s Soccer League, the premier women’s soccer competition in North America. For more information about the Spirit, visit www.WashingtonSpirit.com, follow the club on Twitter @WashSpirit and on Facebook at facebook.com/washingtonspirit.

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