Photo courtesy of Breanna Biorato / Washington Spirit
The first week of regular season National Women’s Soccer League play saw Washington Spirit edge a 2-1 win over Houston Dash despite a far-from-convincing performance. It was arguably their poorest start to a season in recent years, but injuries played a major role. With only eight players available on the bench, and key figures like Croix Bethune and Trinity Rodman just returning from injury, the result was more about resilience and getting an important away win rather than playing well.
Despite this, the new-look center-back pairing of Rebeca Bernal and Tara McKeown showed promise. The Washington Spirit can be pleased with the duo’s dogged display overall, especially as the Dash looked to assert more control over proceedings and created numerous offensive opportunities at will.
The pair is in their athletic prime — Bernal at 27 years old and McKeown just 25 — and epitomize the Spirit’s novel style of play. The way they played in the first game highlights head coach Jonatan Giráldez’s vision for a possession-dominant style. However, Bernal in particular showed why she might just be the most important player going forward.
Bernal’s first NWSL start saw her play in both defense and midfield due to Hal Hershfelt’s ankle injury. The Mexican defender was tasked with being the primary progressive passer in Giráldez’s 4-3-3 / 4-2-3-1 setup.
Tactically, there were three defining features to Washington Spirit’s play: controlled buildup with low fullbacks, a physical midfield with clear strategy to find the half-space wingers/No. 10s, and a high press.
The Spirit operated without true wingers, instead using two narrow forwards to support the striker, Ashley Hatch. Initially, Hershfelt and Narumi Miura focused on feeding passes into the half-spaces for Makenna Morris, Chloe Ricketts, and Leicy Santos to receive and create. Off the ball, the Spirit pressed high, allowing their backline to push up.
In possession, they built up with Hershfelt as the lone pivot, confidently receiving under pressure. When needed, Narumi dropped deeper to form a double pivot and help bypass Houston’s high press. The centerbacks often used Hershfelt as a bounce option before switching wide to the advanced fullbacks. However, Houston’s 4-4-2 mid-block eventually stalled much of the Spirit’s progression.
From consistently recycling possession to attempting more progressive passes, Bernal was the catalyst for many of the Spirit’s attacking moves. Bernal’s heat map shows that most of her active areas were outside the box in a higher position.
Even when her passes didn’t come off, Bernal was often the only player willing to take risks in possession. In one example, a line-breaking ball against the Dash shifted the tempo, bypassed the midfield press, and forced Houston to reset, putting the Spirit in a more advanced position.
As illustrated above, Houston’s two forwards were not interested in pressing the centerbacks, instead they focused on blocking the supply into the double pivot. The Dash also formed a box of four to create a four-on-two situation. By pushing their midfield up high Houston attempted to force Bernal and McKeown to make longer passes so they could benefit from winning the first or second ball.
It was in these situations that Bernal’s diverse passing range came into the fray — her ability to play both long and short progressive passes was on full display and allowed the Spirit to advance the ball into the advanced midfielders and forwards.
Statistically, Bernal ranked near the top in passing metrics in this game. She had an 82% success rate on accurate passes, completing 54 out of 66 passes. Equally, she had 88 touches of the ball and attempted 14 long passes, with 6 accurately hitting the intended target. Her influence was undeniable as she played a crucial role in the team’s on-the-ball structure.
From a defensive perspective, it became a backs-against-the-wall kind of performance as the game wore on. But this didn’t stop Bernal from defending aggressively.
A lot of the initial defensive covering was carried out by McKeown, who used her pace to cover any runs or passes in behind. This gave Bernal the chance to play on the front foot, stepping into the midfield and defending aggressively. With the security of McKeown and Hershfelt, Bernal could confidently step forward and intercept any passes she felt were in reach. The below example from the first half stopped a transition attack that could have led to a dangerous opportunity.
Later in the second half, an ankle injury forced Hershfelt out of the game so Giráldez needed to reconfigure the midfield. He opted to bring Esme Morgan on to play at centerback and move Bernal into the No. 6 role. Bernal continued to play how she had been, pushing forward, breaking up play with her aggressive tackling and pressing the Dash midfielders.
“For me, it’s very important that she has this type of versatility to play in different positions,” Giráldez told media postgame. “We know that she can play in both positions with the [Mexican] national team … She’s a leader. She’s very intense, she defends pretty well. We have to help her because we know that she is going to help us a lot during the season.”
There’s still plenty of room for growth in Giráldez’s side, but the current injury list has complicated progress. With Rodman and Bethune expected to return soon, the attack should get a boost — but Bernal will remain central to the Spirit’s overall buildup play. Her role will be key in setting up the returning attackers to thrive this season.
