Spirit rookie Croix Bethune out for season with knee injury, reportedly from Nationals first pitch gone wrong

Croix Bethune’s rookie season is over, one assist short of making NWSL history.

The Washington Spirit announced Wednesday the 23-year-old midfielder will miss the rest of the season with a meniscus injury and has been placed on the season-ending injury (SEI) list. While the team only said the injury was sustained “away from training last week,” Jason Anderson of Pro Soccer Wire reports she hurt her knee while throwing out the first pitch at a Washington Nationals game last week.

You can see the pitch here:

Bethune will finish the season with five goals and 10 assists in only 17 matches. Last week, she tied Tobin Heath’s 2016 campaign for the most assists in the NWSL’s 12-season history. Even with eight matches left, Bethune figures to be a leading candidate for the Rookie of the Year award.

Croix Bethune gamble paid off for Spirit before injury

Bethune had been an enormous bright spot for the Spirit this season. After a disappointing 7-9-6 season last year, the team opted to wipe the slate as clean as it could by not retaining head coach Mark Parsons and trading away standouts Sam Staab and Ashley Sanchez.

Washington used the pick they got for Staab, the third overall pick via the Chicago Red Stars, on Bethune. She was one of four first-round picks for the team, in addition to Hal Hershfelt, Kate Wiesner Makenna Morris.

While criticized by some at the time, those moves have paid off enormously for the Spirit, who currently sit second on the table with a 12-2-4 record. The additions of Bethune and Hershfelt have been a significant boon, as both players looked good enough during the season to be selected as USWNT alternates for the 2024 Olympics.

Bethune was elevated to the Olympic roster after an injury to Jaedyn Shaw and made an appearance as a sub in group play against Australia. It’s unclear where the Spirit’s season goes from here, but she can at least say she got a gold medal and a place in the NWSL record books in her rookie season.