u/Square_Independent81

I’ve been thinking about these last two losses a lot, especially the Courage game, and honestly I’m still not that worried about the Spirit yet. Obviously losing two straight at home sucks, and going down 3-0 in 15 minutes absolutely cannot happen, but I also feel like it’s really easy to overlook the positives when the final result is a loss.

We literally fought back from 3-0 to 3-3 and were inches away from potentially making it 4-3 with Hal’s shot off the post. If we had held onto the draw, I feel like the conversation around that game would be completely different even though 99% of the performance would’ve been exactly the same.

My biggest concern honestly isn’t even the two losses themselves. It’s how predictable our attack has become. It feels like teams know we’re going to progress down one of the wings and then look for the pass centrally. Sometimes we get right outside the box with a decent shooting opportunity and instead pass it around looking for the perfect chance until the defense gets completely organized. I’d love to see us attack through the middle more, take more shots when the opportunity is there, and just give defenses more things to think about.

I also think we sometimes get too conservative once we have a lead. Obviously you don’t want to play recklessly when you’re up 2-0, but I also don’t want the other team knowing that we’re basically going to put it in park. Make them worry that if they start throwing numbers forward, we might make it 3-0.

Saturday actually showed me the mentality I want to see more often. Once we were down 3-0, suddenly there was urgency, players were taking chances, and we became much harder to defend. Obviously you can’t play with that level of risk all the time, but I’d love to see that same decisiveness without needing to go three goals down first lol.

There are definitely things to fix, especially defensively, and these last two results hurt. But with 11 games left, I’m nowhere near ready to say this team isn’t a contender anymore. I think the response over the next few games is going to tell us a lot.

Curious how everyone else is feeling now that we’ve had a little time to process the Courage game. Are you genuinely worried, or do you think this is just a rough stretch they can work through?

Does anyone know if the Spirit are wearing Shockwave or Spirit in Bloom kits against the Courage tonight? I’m trying to figure out which jersey/colors to wear to Audi.

I was hoping to bring my Sony a7V with a Sony FE 70–200mm f/2.8 GM OSS II to a Washington Spirit game, but I wasn't sure how strictly Audi Field enforces their camera policy.

The lens is about 7.9 inches long, so it appears to be within the published 8-inch lens limit. However, the policy also mentions "professional or commercial-grade cameras," which made me a little unsure.

I'm a high school student who loves sports photography and is currently building my portfolio. My goal is to eventually photograph sporting events professionally and, hopefully one day, earn media credentials to cover Spirit games. For now, though, I'd only be taking photos for personal use from my ticketed seat—no tripod, monopod, or any other equipment.

Has anyone brought a similar setup (Sony a7 series, Canon R-series, Nikon Z-series, etc. with a 70-200mm f/2.8) into a Spirit game? If so, did you have any issues getting through security, or was it allowed without any problems?

I already emailed Guest Experience for an official answer, but I was also curious to hear about other fans' experiences.

Thanks!

With all three new signings now officially announced, I'm curious what everyone thinks about the Spirit's upcoming free agents.

I've seen a lot of different theories about what these signings could mean for players whose contracts are up at the end of the season—especially Hal Hershfelt, Andi Sullivan, and Leicy Santos.

Some people think these signings could be the club preparing in case one or more of them leave, while others think they're simply young, high-upside signings that fit Haley Carter's long-term roster-building philosophy and aren't direct replacements for anyone. I've also seen people suggest that players already on the roster, like Deb or Claudia, could be part of the club's succession plan rather than these new signings replacing anyone directly.

What does everyone realistically expect to happen? Who do you think the Spirit will prioritize re-signing? Who seems most likely to stay or leave? And do you think these recent signings are connected to the upcoming free-agent situation at all, or are they simply part of the club's long-term roster-building strategy?