Year-End Awards

Vote Washington Spirit

Three Spirit players have been nominated for four NWSL end-of-year awards: Trinity Rodman has been named a finalist for the league’s Most Valuable Player (MVP) award, Tara McKeown for Defender of the Year and Croix Bethune for both Midfielder of the Year and Rookie of the Year. Now it’s time for you to do your part: VOTE NOW!

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Trinity Rodman - Most Valuable Player

2024 Notables

• Finished ninth in 2024 Ballon d’Or as one of the world’s greatest players
• Led the league in big chances created with 13 and tied for third in the league with 47 chances created
• Finished tied for sixth in the league in goals (8, new career-high) and tied for third in the league in assists (6, tied career-high)
• Ended the season with 61 shots excluding blocks (fourth in NWSL), 38 shots on goal (fourth) and 53 dribbles completed (tied for second) in 23 matches (20 starts) over 1,770 regular season minutes.
• Combined with Croix Bethune to set a new league record for assists in a season by a teammate duo (16), passing Kim Little and Jess Fishlock (Seattle, 15, 2014)
• Integral member of the 2024 Olympic gold medal winning USWNT

2024 Career Milestones

• Set a new record as the youngest player with 50 combined goals/assists in all NWSL comps (22 years, 118 days), passing Sophia Smith (23 years, 265 days)
• Became the youngest player with 40 combined goals/assists in all NWSL comps (21 years, 347 days), passing Sophia Smith (22 years, 297 days)
• Became youngest player with 20 assists in all NWSL comps (22 years, 110 days), passing Sam Kerr (25 years, 244 days)
• One of three players with 10 combined goals/assists in multiple seasons before turning 23, joining Sam Kerr and Sophia Smith

2024 Spirit Milestones

• Set a new club record for career assists, now currently at 16
• Tied her own mark with the second-most assists in a season in club history (6, also accomplished as a rookie in 2021, and second behind Croix Bethune, 10, in 2024)
• Moved up the ranks and is tied with Diana Matheson as the club’s second all-time leading goal scorer with 23 goals, behind Ashley Hatch (46)

Led an Offensive Attack that:

• Scored 51 goals, tied for fourth-best in NWSL history and most in Spirit history (previous best: 36, in 2014)
• Recorded 33 assists, tied for fourth-best in NWSL history and most in Spirit history (previous best: 20, 2019)
• Became first team in NWSL history with 10 players with at least two goals
• Became third team in NWSL history with five players with at least five goals
• Became seventh team in NWSL history with three players with at least seven goals
• Won 18 games, tied for the most in league history (tied with Orlando and passing the 2018 North Carolina Courage, 17) and most in Spirit history (previous best: 12 in 2016)
• Earned 56 points, tied for third-most in league history, and the most in Spirit history, passing 39 points in 2021

Croix Bethune - Rookie of the Year & Midfielder of the Year

2024 Bio

• Drafted no. 3 in 2024 NWSL Draft
• Played 17 games with 16 starts, totaling 1,389 minutes
• Placed on Season Ending Injury following August 25 match
• Member of 2024 Olympic Gold USWNT

Among 2024 Rookies

• Tied for the rookie goals lead (5) on only 19 shots and 10 shots on goal
• Assist leader (10)
• First in big chances created (10)
• Second in chances created (34)

Among 2024 NWSL Players

• Led the league in assists (10) despite playing in only 17 games
• Tied for second in the league in big chances created with 10, behind Trinity Rodman (13) and tied with Debinha (10)
• Tied for 15th in chances created (34), despite playing at least four fewer games than every player ahead of her

In Spirit History

• Broke the club assist season record (6, held by Trinity Rodam) in 10 games
• Climbed to fourth on the team’s all-time assist list behind Trinity Rodman (16), Crystal Dunn (11) and Diana Matheson (11)
• Became the third player to score multiple goals in first four games for club, joining Diana Matheson and Hal Hershfelt

In NWSL History

• Tied Tobin Heath for the most assists in league history (10), with all 10 assists coming across a 12-game span
• Became the only player in NWSL history with seven assists in a five-game span
• Became the quickest player in league history to eight assists, doing so in 11 games
• Is the first player in league history with two result-changing goals after the 95th minute, scoring a game-winner vs. Bay FC in the Spirit’s home opener and a game-tying goal vs. San Diego Wave in front of a sold-out crowd at Audi Field
• Recorded three assists at Chicago on May 1, becoming the fifth player in league history, first rookie and first Spirit player to accomplish the feat (later joined by Malia Berkely)
• Became the first player to win three straight Rookie of the Month awards, and set a record with four over the course of the season
• Began her career with three straight Best XI recognitions

Tara McKeown - Defender of the Year

• In just her second season since converting from forward to center back, McKeown recorded the first Ironwoman season of her career, joining seven other NWSL players to set new club and league records for minutes in a season, across 26 matches (26 starts) and 2,340 minutes
• A key defensive leader who played every minute of a league-record 18 Spirit wins
• Helped the Spirit tie for third in the league in goals against average (1.08)

Among Defenders

• First in headed clears with 68 (15 more than Del Fava’s 53)
• Third in clears with 135 (Del Fava, 154 and Kuikka, 142)
• Fourth in touches: 1,961 (Williams, Kurtz, Berkely)
• Fourth in pass attempts: 1,623 (Williams, Kurtz, Berkely)
• Fourth in passes completed, 1,399 (Williams, Kurtz, Berkely)

Tara McKeown has been immense for this Spirit team. In just her second season as a center back after years as a forward, she’s fueled this back line against some of the league’s best.

And now, she scores a playoff equalizer to keep the season alive. pic.twitter.com/jmehNYDpbt

— Ella Brockway (@ellabrockway) November 10, 2024

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