The Washington Spirit have had a trying 2022 season, with the club notching just one win after charging to the 2021 NWSL title.

To identify one root cause of the Spirit’s issues this season would prove nearly impossible: a gauntlet of an early-season schedule, a bevy of player absences, the mounting pressure to break the losing skid.

The tensions came to a head this week, as coach Kris Ward was relieved of his duties after a confrontation that occurred during one of the team’s training sessions. He was fired amid a 17-match winless streak dating back to May 1, with just six matches left on the NWSL regular season schedule.

The 2022 campaign marked a startling shift in form for the Spirit, who prevailed in 2021 despite a tumultuous ownership saga, the firing of head coach Richie Burke and the wider NWSL reckoning around coaching abuses.

So, how did the 2022 season go so wrong for Washington?

Frenetic schedule

The Spirit fell victim to their own successes to start the season.

The squad made a run to the Challenge Cup final in May. For the finalists, the preseason tournament stretched across eight matches, with Washington’s regular season opener sandwiched between its last group stage match and the Challenge Cup semifinal.

After the tournament final, just 12 days separated the Spirit’s next four games, with the team playing a total of seven games in less than a month.

“There were so many consequences, in my mind, that came from the Challenge Cup for us and many others, as well,” Ward told The Athletic following his firing. “And then just the difficult run of games. All of those games back-to-back-to-back for seven, eight weeks; it was a twofold problem in that the people who were playing had to continue to play.

“Because we were playing every three days we couldn’t train, so the players who were trying to come back couldn’t get minutes against that level or that intensity because they’d be training one-on-one or with the reserve team. It made it difficult to get players back.”

Injury and international duty

The Spirit have played without key players too often to find a rhythm with their roster.

Co-captain and midfield anchor Andi Sullivan started the season with a knock, almost immediately putting Washington on the back foot.

Then the team had to manage during the international break as players left to compete for the U.S. women’s national team at the Concacaf W Championship in July. With World Cup and Olympic qualifying on the line, this summer’s national team call-ups carried different weight and demanded a higher level of concentration.

The Spirit consistently have sent the most players to the USWNT this year, with Kelley O’Hara, Aubrey Kingsbury, Emily Sonnett, Ashley Sanchez, Sullivan, Ashley Hatch and Trinity Rodman routinely called into camp.

O’Hara will miss the USWNT’s September friendlies due to a lingering hip injury, though she has continued to play for the Spirit. Sonnett will also miss the friendlies, but she also has been ruled out for the rest of the NWSL season with a foot injury.

The team signed midfielder Marissa Sheva and forward Audrey Harding through the end of the season to fill the gaps in their roster.

Did Ward lose the locker room?

Ward’s relationships with several players had frayed this season ahead of his dismissal, The Washington Post reported.

Spirit general manager Mark Krikorian later told reporters that, following an Aug. 19 confrontation between Ward and a player at practice, “it became apparent to me and to all that a change was necessary.”

While Krikorian declined to provide details of the incident or to say if the incident was part of a broader pattern of behavior from Ward, the ex-coach told The Athletic that he had yelled at the player in question but claimed that he stopped short of name-calling or belittling.

“I think, looking at it now, if I had to do it again, I would do it differently,” Ward said. “Typically, my style is one-on-one, having a conversation off to the side.”

When asked directly by The Athletic if he lost the locker room, Ward responded, “Honestly, no.” Per Ward, though, Krikorian cited losing the locker room as a primary concern driving the decision to fire the coach.

Co-captain Andi Sullivan read a statement after the team’s first game following Ward’s firing, telling reporters that players “are angered by Kris Ward’s answers in the piece by The Athletic. We know the idiom there are two sides to every story, but that is simply not the case in this scenario.”

“We know his interview to be a completely inaccurate recollection of a serious situation and furthermore the apology offered to us last Friday demonstrates a misalignment in his word and actions toward this team,” Sullivan added.

The Spirit’s winless skid reached 18 after Saturday’s 2-2 draw with the Houston Dash. They still are seeking their first win since May 1 with five matches left in the regular season, but they’ll aim to end their challenging year on a high.

USWNT stalwart Alex Morgan will miss at least one week of NWSL action after suffering a left ankle knock in her last club appearance, Wave manager Casey Stoney said on Thursday.

Morgan was helped off the field after rolling her ankle in the later stages of the Wave’s 1-0 loss to the Orlando Pride last weekend, despite the San Diego side being out of available substitutes.

“She's got an ankle injury and she's out for this weekend, and then it'll be week by week from there,” Stoney said, confirming that Morgan’s been ruled out for Saturday’s showdown with NWSL newcomer Bay FC.

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Depending on its severity, Morgan’s ankle issue might have larger ramifications than missing a few weeks of NSWL play. Morgan was added to the team's Gold Cup roster after an ACL injury sidelined young striker Mia Fishel, and she's since made a number of USWNT starts in the team's Gold Cup and SheBelieves wins. A long-term injury could potentially derail the center forward’s Olympic plans.

With her return timeline uncertain, it's possible the injury could also impact Morgan's ability to participate in new head coach Emma Hayes' first U.S. friendlies in June and July.

Morgan's injury concerns aren't uncommon in the U.S. player pool, but add a sense of urgency as Hayes eyes the NWSL for top-performing players in the upcoming weeks. Gotham's Tierna Davidson and Rose Lavelle have also been dealing with injuries: Lavelle has yet to appear for Gotham, while Davidson exited last weekend's match early with a hamstring injury.

Gotham has yet to issue an update concerning Davidson's status.

This week, legendary Brazilian superstar Marta announced that she’ll retire from the national team at the end of 2024.

In an interview with CNN Esportes published Thursday, the iconic footballer confirmed that she would be hanging up her boots regardless of whether or not she ends up making Brazil's 18-player roster for the 2024 Paris Olympics. 

“If I go to the Olympics, I will enjoy every moment, because regardless of whether I go to the Olympics or not, this is my last year with the national team,” she said. “There is no longer Marta in the national team as an athlete from 2025 onwards.”

Marta will retire as a giant of the women's game, having appeared in five Olympics and multiple World Cups. When discussing her retirement, she stressed confidence in the rising generation of Brazilian players, noting that she was, “very calm about this, because I see with great optimism this development that we are having in relation to young athletes." 

The statement echoes back to a plea she made during the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup after Brazil lost to France 2-1 in the Round of 16. “It's wanting more. It's training more. It's taking care of yourself more. It's being ready to play 90 plus 30 minutes. This is what I ask of the girls,” she said then, addressing the young players following in her footsteps. 

In 2023, she signaled a farewell to World Cup competition with the same sentiment, telling media, “We ask the new generation to continue where we left off.”

If selected for the 2024 Olympic team, Marta has a shot at extending her own consecutive-scoring record with the ability to score in an unbelievable sixth-straight Olympic Games. She currently stands as Brazil’s top goalscorer, racking up 116 career goals in 175 matches, as well as the leading goalscorer in any World Cup, women’s or men’s, with 17 to her name. 

Marta will continue to play for the NWSL’s Orlando Pride through at least the end of 2024. The longtime forward and club captain has already contributed to multiple goals this season.

U.S. Soccer announced Tuesday that the USWNT will play their last home game on July 16th in the lead-up to the 2024 Summer Olympic Games in Paris.

The 2024 Send-Off Match against Costa Rica will take place at Washington, DC’s Audi Field — home to both the Washington Spirit and DC United — at 7:30 p.m. ET on Tuesday, July 16th. The friendly rounds out a four-game Olympic run-up campaign under incoming head coach Emma Hayes’ side, with the last two set to feature the finalized 2024 U.S. Olympic Women’s Soccer Team roster.

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Hayes will appear on the USWNT sideline for the first time this June, helming the team as they embark on a two-game series against Korea Republic hosted by Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, Colorado on June 1st followed by Allianz Stadium in St. Paul, Minnesota on June 4th. 

The team is then scheduled to meet a talented Mexico squad on July 13th at Gotham FC’s Red Bull Arena in Harrison, New Jersey, where the Olympic-bound lineup will attempt to rewrite February’s shocking 2-0 loss to El Tri Femenil in the group stages of this year’s Concacaf W Gold Cup. And while clear roster favorites have emerged from both of this year’s Gold Cup and SheBelives Cup rosters, a spate of recent and recurring injuries means making it to the Olympics is still largely anyone’s game.

Broadcast and streaming channels for the USWNT's final July 16th friendly at Audi Field include TNT, truTV, Universo, Max, and Peacock.

The USA Basketball Women's National Team is still considering Caitlin Clark for a spot on the Paris Olympics squad, says selection committee chair Jennifer Rizzotti. 

On Monday, Rizzotti told the AP that the committee will be evaluating the college phenom’s Olympic prospects by keeping a close eye on her first few weeks of WNBA play with Indiana.

The move is somewhat unconventional. While Clark was invited to participate in the 14-player national team training camp held earlier this month — the last camp before Team USA’s roster drops — she was unable to attend due to it coinciding with Iowa’s trip to the NCAA Women’s Final Four.

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Judging by the immense talent spread throughout the league in what might be their most hyped season to date, competition for a piece of the Olympic pie could be fiercer than ever before.

"You always want to introduce new players into the pool whether it's for now or the future," said Rizzotti. "We stick to our principles of talent, obviously, positional fit, loyalty and experience. It's got to be a combination of an entire body of work. It's still not going to be fair to some people."

Of course, Clark isn’t the first rookie the committee has made exceptions for. Coming off an exceptional college season that saw her averaging 19.4 points, 8.7 rebounds, and 4 assists per game for UConn, Breanna Stewart was tapped to represent the U.S. at the 2016 Olympics in Brazil less than two weeks after being drafted No. 1 overall by the Seattle Storm. Eight years prior, fellow No. 1 pick Candace Parker punched her ticket to the 2008 Games in Beijing just two weeks after making her first appearance for the L.A. Sparks.

In the lead-up to Paris’ Opening Ceremony on July 26th, USA Basketball Women’s National Team is scheduled to play a pair of exhibition games. They'll first go up against the WNBA's finest at the July 20th WNBA All-Star Game in Phoenix before facing Germany in London on July 23rd.

While an official roster announcement date hasn’t yet been issued, players won’t find out if they’ve made this year’s Olympic cut until at least June 1st.