4TH STRAIGHT PLAYOFF SELLOUT 😤 Thank you Spirit fam 💛 we can’t wait to see you this Saturday!

At Spirit training, where Coach Adrián González was fairly coy regarding the status of Tara McKeown (ankle) and Gabrielle Carle (hamstring). "We need to see how the week goes," he said. Both players were held out of full training. And Trinity Rodman? "I think she's on track," González said.

As you may have noticed, we have a NEW LOOK! Of course, we will still be bringing you the same Hey Spirits content. Thanks to local artist Ale Rodriguez-Gitler for the design. You can find more of her work here: aler-g.com

Of note: This Atlanta team will play home games at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, meaning there will eventually be two NWSL teams with permanent homes in NFL stadiums. Given the links between the Spirit + the RFK Stadium project in DC, it’ll be worth watching how those (+ the Boston season at Gillette) go.

This is really well done. www.newyorker.com/culture/the-...

🌸NEW POD🌸 In solidarity with the Spirit, Annie, Ella & André went into extra time recapping yet another dramatic and special playoff win at Audi! 🟢 open.spotify.com/episode/7JYQ... 🍎 podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/h... #nwsl #nwslplayoffs #woso

From the source on the other site:

FYI: The Spirit's NWSL playoff semifinal at Audi Field has a date and time: Saturday at 12 p.m. Opponent TBD.

Knockout soccer. Strange beast!

Knockout soccer. Strange beast!

“At some point, we’d like to win a playoff game in 90 minutes and do it the easy way. But it’s also more exciting this way.” Another playoff game, another exhilarating Spirit win. Reporting from Audi Field on Washington’s shootout triumph over Louisville:

ICONIC BEHAVIOR ✨ @spiritsquadron.bsky.social ✨

Tara McKeown came off with an ankle injury and will need to evaluated tomorrow, @washingtonspirit.com head coach Adrian Gonzalez said. He added that Gabby Carle "felt something in her hamstring," which led to her removal. (Q by @jasondcsoccer.bsky.social)

A heck of a scene at Audi Field. Trinity Rodman and Sandy MacIver sprinted straight from the sideline to meet Aubrey Kingsbury in goal. Adrián González stood and hugged Tara McKeown and Gabby Carle. And now, Esme Morgan is waving a flag in the middle of the supporters’ section.

Audi Field Status: Loud.

"The Spirit might wanna just go ahead and do a goal or two now'ish" sums up this game.

Audi Field has a big chant and round of applause as Tara McKeown limps off the field with a Spirit trainer after an awkward fall. That’s a blow. She’s been a vital (perhaps the most vital) part of the Spirit’s success this season.

File this under Screenshots That Will Probably Be Getting a Lot of Use On This Account in the Future

Emma Sears almost put this game to bed in the final seconds of stoppage time. That was her first real breakthrough of this match — she might have had as many touches on that run as she had in the entire first half! Game could swing on if she can do it again.

The longer the Spirit went in this 70-percent-possession game without scoring a goal, the more it felt like playing with fire. The longer the Spirit went in this 70-percent-possession-game without scoring a *second* goal, the more it still felt like playing with fire.

Well then.

Good news: Croix Bethune came back in after taking a football tackle in the midfield Not-as-good news: Leicy Santos is down, it's the 70th minute, the Spirit has 72 percent possession (!) and zero (0) big chances (!)

#NWSL commissioner Jessica Berman spoke to media at Audi Field during the halftime break. Asked about the league's change from its prior policy on trans players & future plans for a new policy, and got this reply:

Attendance: 19,215. Third consecutive playoff sellout.

Second half underway. Certainly the Spirit’s best home crowd this season. Beautiful day at Audi Field.

Second-half questionnaire: Will Louisville complete as many passes in this entire game as the Spirit did in that first half?

Vid of offside from a friend at the game. Pretty quickly leads to goal so probably right call. #NWSL #WASvLOU

Looks like Kate Wiesner will be entering for Gabby Carle in the 31st.

It’s the phase before the shross, with this interchange between Kouassi and Santos. it does look marginally off.

Looks like we’ll be seeing a return of Rose Kouassi at wingback for this one. (She’s listed as a D on the team sheet.) Trinity Rodman (MCL sprain) starting on the bench isn’t a surprise, so that considered, this lineup looks pretty full strength.

'Tis the season (already?!) for World Cup kits! And excellent factual tidbits such as: The blue in the stripes for Argentina's is a blend of the three blues used in 1978, 1986 and 2022. (via @pcattry.bsky.social) (Also: Feels like this might shape up to be a World Cup of Centered Crests?)

🌸NEW POD🌸 Annie, Ella & André recap a forgettable game then look ahead to the playoffs! The Purp are a throwback NWSL team, what does that mean and how can the Spirit make sure Rahsing’s playoff run ends at Audi? 🟢 open.spotify.com/episode/1lQw... 🍎 podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/h... #nwsl #woso

A statement from the National Women's Soccer League.

Niche Skeet On This First Night of College Basketball Season: ESPN has changed the layouts of its basketball box scores and I have found it extremely disorienting

After a quiet defeat in Utah to end the regular season, the Spirit is turning the page to the NWSL playoffs. First order of business: A quarterfinal with Racing Louisville. That'll be Saturday 11/8 at noon at Audi Field on big CBS.

Per Adrián González: The new appearances on the Spirit's availability report (Abiodun, Bethune, Santos) for this Utah game were managing small knocks. "It didn't make sense today to put them in a risk." #NWSL

Ah yes, a classic “Five Subs Available and Two of Them Are Goalkeepers” situation:

Approximately 27 minutes ago Fox dropped a Northwestern football promo in the middle of this historically epic World Series game. Nothing has been normal since

HOW DID THAT JUST HAPPEN

We have reached the [totally normal] point of the [totally normal] World Series where players are breaking [totally normal] records that have stood since 1924

Everyone is laughing and smiling and happy about The Beauty of Baseball right now without realizing there is a nonzero chance this goes to 19 innings

Feels safe to predict that we’ll see yet another new starting XI tomorrow for the Spirit’s regular finale based on this longer-than-usual availability report. #NWSL

This is crushing. Decades of cool uniform stuff nobody else covered, gone I remember thinking the internet would be better at preserving work than the pre-digital age, and it feels increasingly clear the opposite is true

It is so cool how Rose Lavelle can make a ~20-yard, one-touch, half-volley banger look that easy.

Lily Yohannes is going to be starring in this USWNT midfield for a long, long, long, long time.

This game has officially gone on for so long that I am going to log it on Letterboxd

If you are reading this, congratulations, you have also just been intentionally walked in Game 3 of the World Series

Obligatory “The Baseball Scriptwriters Are Really On One” Skeet

Reporter Priya Krishna and photographer Hiroko Masuike followed two women for a year as they set to open a restaurant in Brooklyn. Just a fantastic, informative piece for anyone who has ever dreamed of opening a food place. www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

Lily Yohannes is going to be starring in this USWNT midfield for a long, long, long, long time.