Leicy Santos has stepped up for the Spirit in the absence of their star as last year’s NWSL playoff contenders clash on CBS
The 2025 NWSL regular season is in full swing, and a rematch between last year’s playoff contenders is coming to CBS on Saturday. The Washington Spirit will face Gotham FC at Audi Field in Washington, D.C., and both sides are managing injuries to significant players ahead of the match. It is the first meeting between the two teams in the new year as both are considered playoff contenders for the 2025 season.
Gotham FC head coach Juan Carlos Amoros and his side are on a quick turnaround following a midweek loss to Portland Thorns FC on the road, while Spirit manager Jonatan Giraldez and his squad are coming off a week five victory against 2024 NWSL champions Orlando Pride.
Where’s Trinity Rodman?
It was recently reported that Rodman will be away from the club to manage her back injury alongside club and U.S. Soccer medical staff.
The 22-year-old has dealt with back flare-ups since her rookie season, though her most recent spell has sidelined her for the 2025 season. Rodman’s struggles were noticeable throughout the playoff stretch of the 2024 season, and the prolific attacker played through back pain during the 2024 NWSL Championship.
“I’m not hiding the fact that my back is not feeling great, but I decided to stay in the game,” Rodman told the media after the 2024 NWSL Championship. “I could have pulled myself out, so that’s not an excuse. I wasn’t the Trin that I wanted to be today, so that’s a bummer.”
The U.S. women’s national team winger was given the remainder of 2024 for rest and recovery and was not called into USWNT camps till April 2025. She started the season on the Spirit’s bench to gradually build minutes ahead of the April international window. She last featured off the bench for the Spirit against Louisville for 45 minutes and played 60 minutes against Brazil while with the USWNT.
Spirit head coach Giraldez confirmed ahead of Saturday’s game that Rodman has no concrete timetable to return this season as she continues treatment with specialists.
Here are storylines, how you can watch the match and more:
How to watch and odds
- Date: Sat. April 25 | Time: 1 p.m. ET
- Location: Audi Field — Washington, D.C.
- TV: CBS | Live stream: Paramount+
- Odds: Spirit +155; Draw +230; Gotham +175
Last meeting
2024 semifinal rematch: The two sides last faced each other in the 2024 NWSL postseason. Gotham was considered a spoiler team despite the second-place Spirit being the home side and rivals to Orlando for the league shield ahead of the 2024 playoffs. The semifinals took place at Audi Field, and a record playoff crowd attended the high-stakes match that ended 1-1 in extra time and needed penalty kicks to determine a winner, with the Spirit eventually carrying the day.
What Gotham FC are saying
Gotham have been managing some player injuries to start the season, and with a three-game week on the road that ends in Washington, D.C., the coaching staff has player rotations as a priority to get through the heavy match load.
“Well, I think it’s important that for us, the priority is the health and safety of the players, and we work really closely with our medical team, with our high-performance team, to make sure that the players are ready to compete and to play,” Amoros said after their midweek match.
“And that’s not something new. It’s something that we’ve always done, and sometimes it’s the position we are in, something that we cannot really control, so we just try to adapt.”
What the Spirit are saying
The Spirit knew heading into the 2025 season they would be without some key players, midfielder Andi Sullivan sustained an ACL injury in October 2024, and midfielder Croix Bethune returned to the active roster for 2025 from a torn meniscus, but has not yet been able to play significant minutes. The challenges have meant more responsibilities for players across the roster, but Spirit head coach Giraldez embraces it as an opportunity.
“It creates, for me, a big impact, a huge impact, because when you perform and when you win games, it doesn’t matter who is playing,” Giraldez told media ahead of Saturday’s match.
“That’s the most beautiful thing, positive for the environment, for the culture, try to be as competitive as possible. It doesn’t matter who is playing. So I would like to say that as you know, as an opportunity, as a team, to grow together, especially in the bad moments, we know how easy is. In the good moments, when you are winning games, when everyone is healthy, that’s easy. But in the bad moments, we have to be there together, and we are showing a huge character as a team, and I am very happy for that.”
Predicted lineups
Washington Spirit: Aubrey Kingsbury, Esme Morgan, Tara McKeown, Rebeca Bernal, Gabby Carle, Narumi Miura, Leicy Santos, Heather Stainbrook, Makenna Morris
Gotham FC: Ann Katrin Berger, Lilly Reale, Emily Sonnett, Jess Carter, Brunihna, Neely Martin, Jaelin Howell, Sarah Schupansky, Taryn Torres, Gabi Portilho, Esther Gonzalez
Prediction
With so many injuries and minute management for players on both sides, this might be another tightly contested, sometimes cage, affair. There will still be defensive questions asked of Gotham, but there’s enough attacking talent on both sides for there to be goals in this one. Pick: Spirit, 1, Gotham 1
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