Photo Copyright David Gonzales for USA TODAY Sports
On Saturday night, July 6, the Washington Spirit played their first game under the official tutelage of new head coach Jonatan Giráldez. Giráldez, the former head coach of the FC Barcelona Femení, officially joined the Washington club a few weeks ago. Interim head coach (and current assistant coach) Adrián González, however, remained at the helm in order to execute a smooth transition.
So when Giráldez curated his first game plan on Saturday night, many were curious to see if he would continue pursuing González’s strategies that brought the Spirit early season success, or if he would chart a different course for the team.
But Giráldez’s first big move was straight out of the successful González playbook — use the rookies. The Washington Spirit’s 2024 draft class consists of five rookies who have made enormous contributions to the team’s success this year. Perhaps the least known of the five, Makenna Morris, earned a start from Giráldez on Saturday…
