2023 Washington Spirit season

The 2023 Washington Spirit season was the team's eleventh season as a professional women's soccer team. The Spirit played in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL), the top tier of women's soccer in the United States.

Background
The Spirit failed to defend their 2021 championship during the 2022 season, and also failed to qualify for the NWSL Playoffs, finishing in 11th place of 12 teams. The team fired championship-winning Kris Ward after a start and allegations of misconduct toward players, leaving Albertin Montoya to finish the season as interim head coach. Ward was later banned indefinitely by the NWSL following a league investigation into the allegations. The team also hired Mark Krikorian, formerly head coach of the Florida State Seminoles women's soccer team, as its new general manager in June 2022.

Hirings
In November 2022, the Spirit announced several technical and front-office hirings, including:


 * Dawn Scott, formerly of The Football Association and United States Soccer Federation and most recently of Inter Miami CF, to staff and lead the Spirit's new performance and medical division, on November 1
 * Morinao Imaizumi, formerly of Florida State University and most recently with Chicago Red Stars, as a player development coach on November 8
 * Mark Parsons, its former head coach and most recently manager of the Netherlands women's national football team, as its new permanent head coach on November 21

Offseason transactions
On February 7, 2023, the Spirit signed Olympique Lyon midfielder Inès Jaurena, who had ended her contract with Lyon by mutual consent on January 29.

On March 3, 2023, the Spirit signed midfielder Chloe Ricketts, who at 15 years and 283 days old had signed her NWSL contract at an age three days' younger than Olivia Moultrie in June 2021, setting a new NWSL record for youngest signing. The record was broken again 18 days later, when San Diego Wave FC signed Melanie Barcenas at 15 years and 138 days old. Rickett was signed using the league's new under-18 entry mechanism added by the collective bargaining agreement signed near the start of the NWSL preseason.

Change in colors
The Spirit abandoned its red, white, and blue color scheme for monochromatic white and black kits with a metallic chrome crest. The team debuted the kits and crest to premium season ticket holders, supporters' group members, and sponsors at the Penn Social event space on March 1, 2023. Spirit owner Y. Michele Kang said the changes represent a clean-slate transition toward a planned club rebranding.

March/April
The Spirit went undefeated in its first five league matches and did not trail an opponent during that span, but lost its 2023 NWSL Challenge Cup opener to NJ/NY Gotham FC 1–0 on April 19. The unbeaten stretch included the professional debut of Ricketts on April 15 against North Carolina Courage.

On April 7, the Spirit announced the hiring of Mami Yamaguchi, a former Japan national team player and former player and assistant coach to Mark Krikorian at Florida State, as an assistant coach. She had most recently served as an assistant coach and player-coach at Detroit City FC and AFC Ann Arbor.

May
The Spirit continued winning through the start of May, with wins of 3–1 against San Diego Wave FC on May 6, 4–2 against Orlando Pride in the second match of Challenge Cup group play, and 1–0 against Angel City FC on May 13 to move to the top of the NWSL table. The team's time atop the standings ended with its next match on May 20, its first league loss of the season, falling 2–1 at Orlando Pride. The Spirit finished May tied for second with 16 points with OL Reign, San Diego Wave FC, and Portland Thorns FC after a 1–1 draw against leaders NJ/NY Gotham FC on May 28, equalizing on a Paige Metayer goal in the 69th minute.

Kang bids for OL Féminin
On May 13, Olympique Lyon won the Coupe de France féminine 2–1 over Paris Saint-Germain, its 10th victory in the competition, on a brace by Ada Hegerberg. The match was attended by Spirit owner Y. Michele Kang, who also raised the trophy with Lyon. On May 16, Olympique Lyon holding company OL Groupe and Kang announced the formation of a separate entity that would be composed of the Spirit and Olympique Lyon Féminin. OL Groupe would retain a 48% stake in the resulting new entity, and Kang would become the club's majority owner and CEO, pending regulatory approval.

June
The Spirit opened June with a 1–1 draw at home against Racing Louisville FC, scoring through Trinity Rodman in the 3rd minute. Louisville equalized on a 51st-minute penalty kick by Savannah DeMelo, then lost Elli Pikkujämsä to a straight red card in the 77th minute. Despite the advantage, the Spirit failed to convert again.

On June 10, the Spirit ended a three-match winless streak by defeating Angel City FC 2–1 at home on goals by Ashley Hatch and Ashley Sanchez, while the defense limited Angel City to one shot on goal in the second half. Goalkeeper Aubrey Kingsbury suffered a head injury in the 90th minute and was substituted out for backup Nicole Barnhart.

On June 14, the Spirit lost to North Carolina Courage 2–1 at home in a Challenge Cup match, conceding the losing goal in second-half stoppage time. The team played without starters Hatch, Rodman, Sanchez, and Andi Sullivan, while Kingsbury remained out while recovering from the head injury sustained against Angel City. Barnhart was team captain for the match, making her 151st appearance across competitions and passing Ashley Harris for second-most appearances by a goalkeeper in league history. Her start alongside 16-year-old Chloe Ricketts resulted in the largest age gap between starting players in a league match, at 25 years, 7 months, and 13 days. Riley Tanner also made her first career start for the Spirit in the match.

On June 18, the Spirit rallied from a two-goal deficit to defeat Kansas City Current 3–2 on the road. The first concession was by Michelle Cooper 22 seconds into the match, setting a new league record for the fastest goal scored in a match, followed by a second goal conceded in the 23rd minute by Debinha on a penalty kick called for a Spirit handball foul in the penalty area. The Spirit's rally began with a Sanchez goal in the 37th minute, a Metayer equalizer in the 82nd minute, and an 88th-minute match winner by Tara McKeown, a defender who played as a forward until the start of the 2023 season.

The Spirit then lost 4–2 on the road to Portland Thorns FC on June 23, conceding a hat-trick to Sophia Smith. The Spirit equalized twice, through Hatch in the 13th minute and Sanchez in the 46th minute.

On June 30, the Spirit signed French forward Ouleymata Sarr, whose contract with Paris FC had expired, to a three-year contract.

World Cup period
Six Spirit players left the team in late June to play for their national teams in the 2023 Women's World Cup:


 * MF Aubrey Kingsbury for
 * FW Trinity Rodman for
 * MF Ashley Sanchez for
 * MF Andi Sullivan for
 * FW Marissa Sheva for
 * FW Riley Tanner for

On June 28, the Spririt signed Mariana Speckmaier and Jordan Thompson to cap-exempt short-term national team replacement player contracts allowed by league rules.

In the Spirit's first regular-season match without its World Cup callups on July 1, the team lost 3–0 at home against Orlando Pride. Nicole Barnhart started in goal for Kingsbury, Hatch took on captaincy of the team, Amber Brooks moved into the midfield, and Nicole Douglas and Lena Silano took on starting roles.

On July 6, the Spirit signed French defender Annaïg Butel, formerly of Paris FC, to a two-year contract with an option for an additional year.

Style of play
Under newly appointed head coach Mark Parsons, the Spirit deployed a 4–4–2 diamond formation and a fast-paced, direct style of play that relied in the first half of the season on shorter passing sequences than any other team in the NWSL.

Stadium and facilities
The Spirit continued to play in Audi Field, their full-time home since the team's 2022 season. The Spirit moved its training to a temporary facility shared with Major League Soccer franchise D.C. United at Segra Field. , Spirit ownership continued searching for available land for plans toward a permanent, stand-alone Spirit training facility.

Broadcasting
On March 30, 2023, Monumental Sports & Entertainment announced a partnership to broadcast nine Spirit road matches on NBC Sports Washington and provide social media coverage of the team.

Draft selections
Draft selections are not automatically signed to the team roster. The 2023 NWSL Draft was held on January 12, 2023, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.