Preview: Spirit dives back into competition after multi-week break, faces Chivas Femenil in first-ever Summer Cup match

Chester, Penn. (07/19/2024) – The Washington Spirit will face Club Deportivo Guadalajara (Chivas) Femenil on Sunday afternoon in the first-ever NWSL x LIGA MX Femenil Summer Cup match for both sides. The match begins at 4:30 p.m. EDT at Subaru Park in Chester, Pennsylvania and will be broadcast on Paramount+ and CBS Sports Golazo Network in English and TUDN in Spanish.

 

The Summer Cup

What is the Summer Cup?

Announced in May, the NWSL x Liga MX Femenil Summer Cup debuts this season in a groundbreaking international collaboration between the United States and Mexico’s most talented women’s soccer leagues. All 14 NWSL clubs and the six Liga MX teams with the most points during 2023-24 league play – Tigres UANL, Club América, Chivas Femenil, Rayadas de Monterrey, Pachuca and Tijuana.

The Spirit will play its group stage matches against Chivas Femenil, NJ/NY Gotham FC and the Chicago Red Stars.

How does it work?

In five groups of four, all clubs will play a three-match group stage with the top four group winners advancing to the semifinals, taking place at CPKC Stadium in Kansas City on Tuesday, August 6. This means one team will win its group and not advance to the Summer Cup semifinals. Winners of the semifinal matches will face off in the Summer Cup final taking place at Toyota Field in San Antonio, Texas, on Friday, October 25.

How can I watch?

CBS Sports will be the exclusive English-language distributor of all Summer Cup games. All matches will stream live on Paramount+, with 11 matches simulcasting on CBS Sports Golazo Network and 12 matches simulcasting on CBS Sports Network, including the semifinals and championship match.

TUDN, the sports programming branch of Spanish-language network Univision, will air three group stage matches while NWSL+ will serve as the Spanish-language home for the remaining group stage matches in the U.S.

 

The Spirit

Prior to the Summer Cup, the Spirit finished the first leg of the NWSL regular season with great momentum, winning its final game before the break and losing only one of its last eight matches. With 34 points, the Spirit sits in third place on the NWSL table, only four points behind the undefeated and first place Orlando Pride.

Throughout the first part of the season, the Spirit caused numerous records to fall by the wayside. The team is off to one of its best starts in club history with 11 wins, 32 goals scored and 12 different goal scorers through 16 matches. All five 2024 Spirit draft selections on the roster have scored this season, highlighted by Croix Bethune’s five goals. The third overall selection has won all three NWSL Rookie of the Month honors in 2024 and is only one assist away from tying the NWSL single season assist record.

While the Spirit has been hot for much of 2024, the Summer Cup proposes both a unique challenge and opportunity. The team will enter Sunday’s match having not played a match in over two weeks. Additionally, the Spirit roster will be bereft of many notable names competing in the 2024 Olympic Games.

Trinity Rodman and Casey Krueger earned spots on the United States 18-player roster, while rookies Hal Hershfelt and Bethune will serve as alternates. Gabby Carle got the nod as an alternate for Canada and signee Leicy Santos, who has not yet played for the Spirit, will represent Colombia.

Absences of key players will offer ample opportunities for the Spirit to showcase its talented roster and depth. Expect players that saw limited minutes to serve in expanded roles and even players sliding into different positions.

The Summer Cup will also provide fans with the possibility of seeing the newest signees don the Sprit kit. Defender Esme Morgan and forward Rosemonde Kouassi, signed in June and July, respectively, will begin integrating with the Spirit squad. Though not eligible to play until August 1, Morgan and Kouassi could debut in the Summer Cup semifinals on August 6.

Following Sunday’s match, the Spirit will take on East Coast foe, Gotham FC, back at Subaru Park on Sunday, July 28 at 6 p.m. EDT. Fans can purchase tickets to that match here.

In its next regular season match, the Spirit will play the currently second-ranked Kansas City Current on Sunday, August 25 at 12 p.m. EDT. This match will be the first match of an historic doubleheader at Audi Field. At 4 p.m. EDT that same day, English rivals Chelsea and Arsenal will face off in the sides’ first-ever matchup in the United States. One ticket gets you access to both matches. Fans can find these tickets at WashingtonSpirit.com/friendlies.

 

The Opposition

Club Deportivo Guadalajara Femenil, more commonly referred to as “Chivas Femenil,” is a two-time champion of Liga MX Femenil and one of only four clubs to win a Liga MX Femenil title. The titles came in 2022 – defeating Pachura in the Clausura Championship – and 2017 – also defeating Pachura in the Apertura Championship. The team is also a one-time winner of the Campeón de Campeonas.

Chivas Femenil enters the Summer Cup having just started its 2024-25 season, winning its first match of the Apertura season – the only Liga MX Femenil match it will play prior to the Summer Cup. Liga MX Femenil runs two different seasons each year – Apertura (running July to December) and Clausura (running January to May).

Spirit Head Coach Jonatan Giráldez is no stranger to Chivas Femenil, as the Guadalajara-based side faced FC Barcelona Femení in a friendly last month on June 12. Chivas Femenil fell to Barcelona in that match, 1-4.

Players to watch include defender Jaqueline Rodríguez, who scored in Chivas Femenil’s first match and has made nearly 150 appearances for the squad. Forward Alicia Cervantes is the lauded team captain, while goalkeeper Blanca Félix is a fixture in goal, making over 100 starts for Chivas Femenil in her career. Finally, keep an eye out for Araceli Torres who, despite being just 23, has made over 150 appearances with the team, beginning her Chivas Femenil career at just 17 years old.

Next, Chivas Femenil will take on the Chicago Red Stars at SeatGeek Stadium in Bridgeview, Illinois on Friday, July 26 at 8 p.m. EDT.

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