The Washington Spirit may only be one week into the preseason, but its first match this past Saturday afternoon seemed to impress fans and, more importantly, head coach Mark Parsons. Parsons says that all objectives were met during the 9v9 intrasquad scrimmage — the two main goals being that the players got game-like minutes for fitness and health purposes and, of course, no injuries.
The 40-minute match was played on a shortened field and saw seven quality goals scored, with a final score of 5-2, red team. There was no major emphasis on how the teams were divided, but rather a focus on how each player performed individually.
One major standout for the red squad was forward and new addition, Tiffany Weimer, who scored four goals during the match. Danesha Adams, who was acquired this season by trading forward Stephanie Ochs to the Houston Dash, combined naturally with Weimer — assisting her first goal with a showy back heel pass.
Both forwards bring experience, appear to play off one another well and show hunger around the net — a trait that was missing in last season’s eighth-place Spirit team.
On the one goal Weimer did not score, she assisted forward and trialist Gloria Douglas.
Defensively, trialist Bianca Sierra had a strong performance, controlling and holding together the back line for the red team. The defender has no experience playing in the professional leagues, but is familiar with several of the Spirit players through her time playing against them on the Mexican National Team.
For the white team, trialist Jordan Angeli turned heads. Not only did she put away the first goal of the game, but she showed glimpses of her 2010 Boston Breaker days as well, where she scored seven goals before tearing her ACL. It has taken Angeli up to this point to fully recover but she says this is where she belongs. She’s playing that way too.
After being tied at halftime 2-2, guest player Lynsdse Hokanson, a former George Mason University goalkeeper, stepped in goal for the white team. The former Patriot hardly stood a chance against Weimer’s unstoppable play-making abilities, however, which had already been proven to trialist goalkeeper Adelaide Gay in the first half.
Of the trialists, Parsons says only three will stay with the team, and even those will have to take someone’s contract. Although this reality has upped the competition, both Parsons and his players have spoken highly of the camaraderie on the team, admitting that establishing relationships now can be the difference maker later.
The Spirit will play three exhibition matches before kicking off its regular season: versus the University of North Carolina on March 22, the University of Virginia on March 29 and the University of Maryland on April 5.
Not all players debuted this match due to either injuries or because they are still trickling in. But Parsons expects for Washington to be at its highest intensity the week the team plays the Maryland Terrapins.
It may be too early to indicate which direction the Spirit is headed, but facing some of the most competitive collegiate teams — not only in the ACC but in the nation — will most certainly put things in perspective quickly.