It’s hard to talk about the Washington Spirit without focusing on Trinity Rodman. The dynamic 21-year-old, who plays as a right forward for both the Spirit and the U.S. women’s national team, has historically contributed to her teams most profoundly with her speed and scoring. But her greatest endowment to the Spirit so far in 2024 has been through her playmaking. Sunday’s match between the Spirit and the recently-rebooted Utah Royals, which resulted in a 2-1 victory for Washington, featured a successful assist from Rodman, as well as numerous attempted ones and dynamic ball movement throughout the full ninety.
The Spirit dominated the first half of Sunday’s match, but the Royals did hand them a true test towards the end. Utah struggled to generate consistent offensive chances in the first half, whereas the Spirit were able to convert two goals. The first goal, a penalty kick, was taken by Andi Sullivan in the 21st minute, filling in for Ashley Hatch, who normally steps up to the task but was ruled out of Sunday’s game for a hip injury. The…
