Washington Spirit have reached the NWSL Championship final and have done so deservedly.
Having finished second in the regular season, the Spirit came in four points behind the Orlando Pride, who had been considered as the best team in the league. Despite having two managers (Jonatan Giráldez arrived on 7th July 2024 to replace interim head coach Adrián Gonzalez), the change in leadership didn’t seem to affect the Spirit as they showed no signs of slowing down.
Washington Spirit’s success these days can largely be attributed to its midfield stability and ability to create space for forwards Ashley Hatch and Trinity Rodman. The two are key in delivering successful attacks and, given this importance, opposition teams frequently look to man-mark them, allowing the midfield a chance to influence the game a bit more. The Spirit’s recent match against Bay FC summed up this, with Rodman and Hatch constantly swarmed by players; despite this, they were still receiving chances. As a result, midfielders Leicy Santos, Andi Sullivan, and Hal Hershfelt had much more space to maneuver the ball in their domain.
Giráldez has made the Spirit a solid outfit with a distinct style of play and quickly got the players to buy into his philosophy. The team already had a host of key players including Hatch, Rodman, and Esme Morgan, and the addition of Leicy Santos in the summer window created an excellent base for Giráldez to work with. However, it was young American midfielder Hal Hershfelt who impressed the most and has arguably been key in the midfield and one of the main reasons for the team’s finals berth.
The Washington Spirit midfielder is a high-octane, defensive central player currently serving as the deepest midfielder in Giráldez’s 4-3-3 or 4-1-4-1. She plays diligently between the lines and has an excellent reading of the game. She excels at screening the defense by intercepting passes and progressing play forward with her dribbling, but more importantly, she thrives in picking up the possession, turning, and recycling it. Her proactive approach ensures the team is consistently looking to push the play forward.
The Spirit’s primary tactical approach revolves around quickly transitioning the ball from back to front and leveraging the pace of their wingers to create 1-v-1 opportunities. This tactic generates cutbacks and crossing situations for center-forwards and late-arriving midfielders to capitalize on.
Players like Hatch, Rodman, Santos, Croix Bethune, and Rosemonde Kouassi are all integral to this system, either by receiving the ball directly or making incisive runs into the box to finish chances. However, committing multiple players forward necessitates a more stable and conservative approach in midfield, where Hershfelt and her teammates have excelled.
For much of the season, Andi Sullivan and Hershfelt have formed a reliable partnership, complementing each other to shield the backline while also initiating attacking sequences. Hershfelt in particular has stood out with her dynamic, all-action displays, while Sullivan consistently provides cover for any defensive gaps left behind by the rookie. Together, they form a balanced and effective duo crucial to the Spirit’s success.
Hershfelt has been played in a couple of different roles so far, starting as part of a double-pivot alongside Sullivan before moving to a lone No. 6 role. In some matches, she was deployed alongside Heather Stainbrook but operated slightly higher up the pitch in a 4-1-4-1 formation. This positional flexibility highlighted her tactical awareness and her ability to contribute effectively in various setups.
In the double pivot, Hershfelt became a bit more of the aggressor pushing forward by pressing and leading duels from the front. From here, she’s able to cover more ground and can keep play busy in the middle third to quickly transition possession towards the wide players. Giráldez’s main attacking threats come from the wide areas, namely in Rodman. While it’s no secret that Rodman is vital to the way Washington Spirit play, it’s the build-up towards getting the ball to her that becomes extremely important.
Taking a closer look at Hershfelt’s defensive data (FBREF) from the 2024 NWSL season, one can see a lot of high-value green bars. What we can deduce from this is that Hershfelt has made her name as a high-volume pressing midfielder. The high percentile of duels in the middle third combined with the percentage of dribblers tackled ranks her in the mid-80s and early 90s. Challenging top wingers in the NWSL with a near 62% success rate is no mean feat. It should be pointed out that her interceptions aren’t as impressive and though it’s only at 1.21 per 90 minutes, Hershfelt’s pressing forces mistakes and misplaced passes. All of this ensures the Spirit can counter-press and win back possession quickly.
Taking the above example, Hershfelt follows the play and looks to pressure Kiki Pickett and then Dorian Bailey. While she doesn’t win the direct duel, she forces Bailey to play a quicker pass and give up possession straight back to the Spirit, and it gets played back into Rodman on the right wing. This sequence of play was aggressive and exactly what Giráldez wants from his midfield. It’s not exactly reminiscent of his Barcelona midfield, but there are shades of Patri Guijarro, who excelled at reading game state and pressuring players to win back possession.
The above tackle from Hershfelt is the perfect example of her unwavering pressing ability and work ethic to track back and win back possession with a crisp, clean tackle before playing it forward for the team to break. This directly led to Hatch scoring against the Orlando Pride.
Further forward, Hershfelt’s responsibilities are relatively straightforward, focusing primarily on ball retention and maintaining possession. A composed and steady presence on the ball, her greatest strengths in attack lie in recycling possession efficiently and positioning herself intelligently on the edge of the box to create shooting opportunities. One of her standout moments in recent weeks came against Bay FC, where she unleashed a last-minute shot that rattled the crossbar, showcasing her ability to find intelligent, free spaces.
Hershfelt averaged 60.43 touches per 90 this season (80th percentile in the NWSL) and 35.59 carries per 90 (92nd percentile). Though she isn’t solely responsible for ball progression, these numbers are extremely useful for highlighting the significance of the team’s deeper lying midfielders. She almost typifies a niche role named the “segundo volante”.
The segundo volante’s role is similar to other defensive midfielders — focusing on recovery, holding their position, and seeking to intercept misplaced passes or beat their player in individual duels. However, the role does have some offensive responsibility, where they don’t just influence games through passing but also bring dynamic forward runs, attacking the box and offering passing options to their teammates with runs into space.
Hershfelt’s off-the-ball game sees her make runs into space to keep possession moving but also find positions at the top of the box to take shots or offer another passing option. This is Giráldez’s influence of wanting some possession-based traits in his team by having players around the box to give different angles and options to shoot or pass.
Here is the aforementioned shot from outside the box. While this might not have exactly come from a full-fledged sequence, the positioning and slow drive to the edge of the box from the set-piece highlighted her awareness of the players around her and her attacking instincts.
For much of the season, Hershfelt hasn’t stood out as a key progressive passer, chance creator, or impactful player in the attacking third. However, this could shift next season — especially if her role evolves as a single or double pivot and her versatility has already demonstrated her potential to excel in a more advanced attacking position.
The upcoming final against Orlando promises to be one of the most captivating matches of the season, with the Pride boasting an intense tactical setup and exceptional off-the-ball organization. For the Spirit to stand a chance, Hershfelt will need to deliver a flawless performance, maintaining focus and excellence in every aspect of her game.
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