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Washington Post
5 days ago
- Sport
- Washington Post
Spirit nets 100th-minute equalizer to salvage draw with Louisville
The Washington Spirit has conjured its fair share of late drama over the past year. After surrendering a first-half lead and falling behind late against Racing Louisville on Friday night at Audi Field, Washington seemed set to slump to its first loss since Adrián González took over as coach.
Washington Post
02-08-2025
- Sport
- Washington Post
The Spirit's new coach? ‘Vulnerable,' honest and right where he wants to be
Adrián González was six months into a stint coaching a Japanese youth team in 2017 when he decided it was time to trade arrogance for empathy. Arriving from venerable Spanish club RCD Espanyol's academy, the Barcelona native assumed he could defuse any culture shock, leave bedside manner at the door and seamlessly share his coaching acuity. But as his ego interfered and his instructions got lost in translation, González and his team suffered the consequences. 'I was blaming, complaining, judging,' González said. ''Oh, they don't understand me. They are so bad.' And I was suffering.' So González committed to change. Revisiting his collegiate studies in Spain, he read up on self-awareness, emotional intelligence and other sports psychology principles. Sure enough, with a newfound emphasis on the human side of coaching came clearer tactical communication. 'From there, I haven't stopped,' he said. 'I invest a lot of time in myself, doing therapy — and different type of therapies — trying to know myself as much as possible, being aware, trying to manage my emotions, my mindset.' After serving as the Washington Spirit's interim coach, assistant coach and acting coach over the past 18 months, González has at last ascended to the top job amid an unusual midseason shake-up. When the fourth-place Spirit (7-4-2) comes out of the NWSL's six-week midseason break against the Portland Thorns (6-3-4) on Sunday afternoon at Audi Field, González will be on the sideline for his first match as the club's full-time head coach. If the 36-year-old abides by an overarching coaching mantra, it's a thirst to understand. By understanding his players as athletes, he aims to shape an on-field identity suited to their skills. By understanding his players as people, he strives to unlock their potential. By letting them understand him, González hopes to foster a culture of open communication. 'He's very vulnerable,' Spirit captain Aubrey Kingsbury said. 'He's very honest. He's always been very up-front with us players about how he's feeling emotionally, and I think that's really important. It just creates an environment where everyone can be authentically themselves.' Winger Brittany Ratcliffe added: 'Obviously, on the field, he sees us. Do we work hard? Do we defend? Are we able to finish? But it takes another level of effort to get to know us as people.' Getting to know González is easy enough. Open to introspection, he tends to cheerfully respond, 'Oh, that's a good question,' to queries that catch him by surprise — and then he rattles off a lengthy response all the same. Asking about his first memories of soccer, however, drew a succinct reply: 'I've been playing since I have memory, to be honest.' When González needed to make some cash before college, a year assisting with his father's carpentry work confirmed that he wasn't destined to follow in his footsteps. 'He's an artist with wood,' González said of his father. 'I'm horrible.' González played for semiprofessional teams in Barcelona and Lleida, where he studied at Catalonia's National Institute of Physical Education, but realized by his early 20s that coaching deserved his undivided attention. After joining Espanyol as a youth coach in 2013, he spent a decade climbing the ladder there in all manner of roles — with year-long detours to Japan and then Greece — before being appointed the coach of the Espanyol women's team in 2023. González had that squad on the verge of promotion to Spain's first division when Jonatan Giráldez, his friend and decorated coaching cohort, approached him in early 2024 with an unexpected offer. As Giráldez planned to see out the European season with Barcelona, then take over as the Spirit's coach midway through the NWSL season, he asked González to serve as Washington's interim leader and become an assistant upon his summer arrival. It was a serendipitous opportunity for González, who came to the United States a decade earlier to play college soccer in Mississippi before his scholarship money fell through and he returned home after two weeks. Instead, González spent a year honing his English in London in hopes of expanding his overseas options. Although González hesitated to leave his Espanyol side, Giráldez's pitch, the Spirit's ambition and the chance to head stateside won him over. While many wrote off 2024 as a rebuilding year for Washington, amid a youthful roster overhaul and the unusual coaching transition, González steered the Spirit to a surprising 10-4-1 record before Giráldez took over. 'Even though it was 'interim,' in my mind, I was acting and leading as a head coach,' González said. 'When you're a head coach and then you go to assistant, you miss leading.' With Giráldez at the reins and González assisting him, the Spirit finished second in the standings before falling to the Orlando Pride in November's NWSL final. In March, the Spirit kicked off its 2025 campaign with a win over Orlando for the Challenge Cup crown. But when the head coaching position at OL Lyonnes — another team in Spirit owner Y. Michele Kang's empire — opened up in May, Giráldez shook up the soccer landscape on multiple continents by leaving Washington for the French powerhouse. For the Spirit, promoting González to head coach was less of a decision than an inevitability. When Giráldez's wife gave birth to their second child in June, González got a head start on head coaching and filled in for what would have been Giráldez's final two matches. Upon his formal introduction last month in downtown D.C., González said he felt as though he was 'dreaming' and spoke of 'building my roots' in the region. For a club that has had five head coaches in the past four years, the notion of a leader in it for the long haul was a welcome development. It helped, too, that González already had a reputation as a personable and approachable coach. 'The way that Adrián goes about trying to get the best out of his players is a little bit different than Jona's style,' defender Kate Wiesner said. 'He's the guy that's going to bring a lot of passion, a lot of enthusiasm every day in the morning. I think it makes it a little bit easier for us to show up here every day with energy.' Tactically, González emphasized a range of preferred principles: short and midrange passes mixed with downfield verticality. Generally pressing high while knowing how to deploy a lower defensive block. As his roster shifts, amid injuries and signings and departures, so does his approach. 'I can have an essence as a coach, obviously,' González said. 'But then you just modify that or create that game style according to the profiles that you have.' Now, those profiles again include star winger Trinity Rodman, who had been excused from the team since mid-April to manage a back injury but returned to full training in recent weeks. 'We have that relationship,' Rodman said of González, 'so it's been already a pretty easy transition.' For González, who lives a 10-minute drive from the Spirit's Leesburg facility and relishes the suburban setting's 'peaceful' lifestyle, his winding road has at last taken him to an ideal destination. Case in point: When clubs contacted the Spirit about interviewing González for head coaching jobs this past offseason, Washington turned them away — and he wasn't particularly interested anyway. 'In my mind, those opportunities or those options were secondary because I wanted to continue here,' González said. 'I didn't want to leave the team, because I was feeling like we still have a lot of things to achieve.' 'This,' he added, 'is the place that I want to be.'
Associated Press
23-06-2025
- Sport
- Associated Press
The Wave dominates but plays to 0-0 tie with the Washington Spirit
SAN DIEGO (AP) — The San Diego Wave dominated possession but couldn't break through in a scoreless draw with the Washington Spirit in the National Women's Soccer League on Sunday night. The Wave (7-3-3) have dropped only one of their last five matches. San Diego's 24 points are the most they've had through the first 13 games in club history. The match was the last before the NWSL goes on its summer hiatus. The league resumes play on Aug. 1. Spirit goalkeeper Aubrey Kingsbury kept her team in the game with six saves. The Wave had the ball more than 65% of the match and made 16 shots, including six on target. It was the fourth straight draw between the two teams. The Spirit (7-4-2) had won their first five road matches this season before falling 2-0 at Portland last weekend. Spirit coach Jonatan Giraldez did not travel with the team to San Diego because his partner Olaia is expecting the couple's second child. Assistant Adrian Gonzalez took his place. ___ AP soccer:
Yahoo
23-06-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
The Wave dominates but plays to 0-0 tie with the Washington Spirit
SAN DIEGO (AP) — The San Diego Wave dominated possession but couldn't break through in a scoreless draw with the Washington Spirit in the National Women's Soccer League on Sunday night. The Wave (7-3-3) have dropped only one of their last five matches. San Diego's 24 points are the most they've had through the first 13 games in club history. Advertisement The match was the last before the NWSL goes on its summer hiatus. The league resumes play on Aug. 1. Spirit goalkeeper Aubrey Kingsbury kept her team in the game with six saves. The Wave had the ball more than 65% of the match and made 16 shots, including six on target. It was the fourth straight draw between the two teams. The Spirit (7-4-2) had won their first five road matches this season before falling 2-0 at Portland last weekend. Spirit coach Jonatan Giraldez did not travel with the team to San Diego because his partner Olaia is expecting the couple's second child. Assistant Adrian Gonzalez took his place. ___ AP soccer:
Miami Herald
18-06-2025
- Sport
- Miami Herald
Spirit sign F Sofia Cantore, first Italian in NWSL history
The Washington Spirit signed forward Sofia Cantore on Tuesday, making her the first Italian player in NWSL history. Cantore arrives via transfer from Italy's Juventus FC and is signed to a three-year deal with a 2028 team option. Cantore, 25, is eligible to join the Spirit on July 1 when the FIFA summer transfer window opens. She will occupy an international roster slot. "Sofia is an important signing for this Spirit team as we continue to build up our roster to compete for trophies," head coach Adrian Gonzalez said. "Her extensive experience in the Italian leagues and exceptional talent in the attacking third will help add a new layer for the Spirit moving forward." Cantore made her professional debut with Italy's Fiammamonza in 2015 before moving to Juventus in 2017. She has spent time on loans with Hellas Verona (2019-20), Florentia (2020-21) and Sassuolo (2021-22), racking up 40 goals and 120 assists across 120 appearances. "I'm very proud to join this important club and grateful for their trust in my abilities," Cantore said. "I'm excited to start this new chapter of my career as the first Italian player in the NWSL and can't wait to work every day with coach Adrian Gonzalez and my new teammates. And of course, I'm thrilled to challenge myself in this great league!" Internationally, Cantore has contributed five goals in 37 matches with the Italian national team since making her senior debut in 2020. --Field Level Media Field Level Media 2025 - All Rights Reserved
