The Washington Spirit attacking midfielder Croix Bethune was named the 2024 Ally Rookie of the Year. The award is given to the most outstanding first-year player in the National Women’s Soccer League. She was ultimately deserving of the award as she tied the season record for assists at 10, which no previous rookie had achieved. She has played in 17 games, and in addition to her assists record, she scored five goals.
Season Ending Injury for the Rookie
Unfortunately, Croix suffered a season-ending injury in September. She tore her meniscus while throwing a first pitch at a Washington Nationals game. Her team was supportive despite her getting injured away from a game or team training. Prior to her injury, she was named the Rookie of the Month four times (March/April, May, June and August) and was named to the NWSL Best XI.
Paris Olympics 2024
Croix played with the National Team in the Paris Olympics games this year, where the team won a gold medal. She had other National Team stints, such as playing at U15 and U17.
College Career
Croix played at the University of Southern California (2019-2022), where she had 26 goals in 48 appearances for the Trojans. While at USC, she was a MAC Hermann Trophy Semifinalist (2021) and United Soccer Coaches All-America First Team (2021, 2022). She then transferred to the University of Georgia, where she continued to have honorable mentions such as Top Drawer Soccer National Best XI Third Team (2023). In her college career, she was also named to the First Team All-Pac-12 for three consecutive years (2020, 2021, 2022) and SEC Tournament MVP (2023). She was drafted by the Washington Spirit as third overall in the 2024 NWSL Draft.
Way Forward for the 2025 NWSL Season
Croix will continue to play for the Washington Spirit as a midfielder for the 2025 NWSL season once she returns from her injury. She signed a three-year contract with the team with an option of extension at the time of expiration.
Other Awards
Other Rookie of the Year contenders were Claire Hutton of Kansas City Current and Ally Sentnor of Utah Royals FC. Other athletes that were named to the First Best XI are Ann-Katrin Berger (Goal Keeper, Gotham Football Club), Emily Sams (Orlando Pride), Casey Krueger (Washington Spirit), Kaleigh Kurtz (North Carolina Courage), Jenna Nighswonger (Gotham FC) for the defense positions and Temwa Chawinga (Kansas City Current), Barbra Banda (Orlando Pride), Marta (Orlando Pride), Trinity Rodman (Washington Spirit), and Sophia Smith (Portland Thorns) for the midfield and forward positions.
