Croix Bethune

Croix Collette Bethune (born March 14, 2001) is an American professional soccer player who plays as an attacking midfielder for the Washington Spirit of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). She played college soccer for the USC Trojans and Georgia Bulldogs. Bethune was selected by the Spirit third overall in the 2024 NWSL Draft. She debuted for the United States national team in 2024.

Early life
Bethune was born to Richard and Jean Bethune, both members of the United States Air Force, and has a brother. She started playing soccer at age three or four. At age four, her family moved to England for three and a half years, where she originally played with boys because there was no girls' team. She played club soccer for the ECNL's Concorde Fire Soccer Club in Atlanta and was named to the national Best XI in 2017 and 2018. She played one season of high school soccer at Alpharetta High School. She also played basketball into high school but focused on soccer after tearing her ACL while training with the national under-17 team.

USC Trojans, 2021–2022
Bethune played three seasons at the University of Southern California. She missed her freshman season due to a second ACL tear. On her debut for the Trojans, she recorded two assists in a 4–3 overtime win against BYU in February 2021. She scored 16 goals in the 2021 season, the third most in a season in program history, including a nine-minute hat trick in the first round of the 2021 NCAA tournament. In both 2021 and 2022, as captain of the Trojans, she was named first-team All-Pac-12, first-team All-American, and the Pac-12 Midfielder of the Year. The Los Angeles Times described her playing style as "flashy", with her game including backheel passes, chip shots, and once balancing the ball on her head to keep possession.

Georgia Bulldogs, 2023
Bethune transferred to the University of Georgia for the 2023 season, reuniting with former USC coach Keidane McAlpine, though she tore her ACL for a third time while still at USC finishing her undergraduate degree. She led Georgia to its first postseason title in program history at the 2023 SEC tournament, where she scored an equalizer against Kentucky in the quarterfinals and the last-minute game winner against Texas A&M in the semifinals, and was named the tournament's most valuable player. She was named second-team All-SEC and second-team All-American.

Washington Spirit, 2024–
The Washington Spirit selected Bethune third overall in the 2024 NWSL Draft; the Spirit acquired the pick by trading Sam Staab to the Chicago Red Stars. She signed a three-year contract with a one-year option. She scored her first professional goal late in stoppage time to beat Bay FC 2–1 on March 23. The following month, she scored in consecutive wins against the Houston Dash on April 12 and NJ/NY Gotham FC on April 20. For her performance, she was named the NWSL Rookie of the Month for March/April 2024. On May 2, she assisted three times in a 4–2 win over the Chicago Red Stars, becoming the youngest NWSL player to record that many assists in one match. She broke the rookie assist record with her seventh assist on the season on May 10. She became the first player to be named back-to-back Rookie of the Month after winning again for May. On June 15, Bethune scored in the sixth minute of second-half stoppage time to salvage a 1–1 draw with the San Diego Wave, winning NWSL Goal of the Week. She was named Rookie of the Month for a third time in a row in June. At the international break in July, she led the NWSL with nine assists, one assist behind Tobin Heath's single-season record.

International career
Bethune was first called up to a youth national team training camp with the United States national under-15 team at age 13 in March 2015. She helped win the 2016 CONCACAF Girls' U-15 Championship, where she was named to the tournament's Best XI team. She was the youngest player on the under-17 team in November 2016. She played for the winning team at the 2018 CONCACAF Women's U-17 Championship and competed at the 2018 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup. She played friendlies for the under-23 team in 2022.

Bethune was called into her first senior national team camp as a training player in June 2024. Later that month she was named as an alternate to the national team for the 2024 Summer Olympics in France. Bethune made her first USWNT appearance on July 13, 2024, coming on in the 81st minute of an international friendly against Mexico.