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KANSAS CITY, Missouri — Washington Spirit midfielder Croix Bethune capped off an incredible first year as a professional player with another award on Thursday when the 23-year-old was named the first recipient of the NWSL’s Midfielder of the Year, and told ESPN that she is only just getting started.
Bethune, who tied an NWSL record with 10 assists this season, was also named Rookie of the Year earlier this week. She earned her first cap for the United States this year and won an Olympic gold medal with the team in August.
Her season was cut short by a torn meniscus suffered while throwing out a celebratory first pitch in late August, meaning she won’t be on the field for the Spirit in Saturday’s NWSL Championship against the Orlando Pride.
Bethune said she hopes to start running again next week and return to the field for the start of the 2025 season.
“Of course, staying healthy, but building on this year,” she told ESPN about her future goals. “Having such a great rookie season, I feel like a lot of people might think it will be hard to top or do better, but for me, I feel like this is just the base to build off of that and to continue to elevate as a player.”
Bethune needed only 17 games to tie former USWNT great Tobin Heath’s NWSL assists record from 2016. Heath, a two-time World Cup winner, was one of Bethune’s favorite players growing up. Bethune said Heath congratulated her on her great season and agrees that there are similarities in their games.
“Tobin is so cheeky and creative, and she has great soccer IQ,” Bethune said. “I feel like there’s a lot of similarities and just watching her play was always so much fun.”
She continued: “For me, I’ve just been playing soccer for so long and I love it. I’ve been taken away from the game, and it helped me find love even more for the game, so I feel like when it’s time to play and perform, I’m just out there doing what I love, just having fun. I feel like I naturally go into a state of flow or calmness.”
Bethune joins USWNT defender Naomi Girma as the only first-year player to win NWSL Rookie of the Year in addition to another award. Girma was also named Defender of the Year as a rookie for the San Diego Wave in 2022.
Bethune described the year as “blessings on blessings,” although having it cut short by another injury, one that didn’t even occur during soccer activities, took some time to process.
“The first week or two were tough, especially coming to peace with what happened,” she said. “It happened and I can’t change anything about it. But after that, just the support being around and flipping my mentality like let’s put this work in to get back, it was fine after that.”
Bethune is one of 11 players this year to earn her first senior USWNT call-up under head coach Emma Hayes. She said she wrote down the Olympics as one of her goals at the beginning of 2024, despite being uncapped, and it manifested itself.
“I honestly love it,” Bethune said of the youth movement in the league and with the USWNT. “I think it’s showing that no matter what class or how old you are, if you’re a baller you’re a baller. I love that Emma’s giving us youth and the younger ones an opportunity to see what we can do. We definitely do have some OG ballers involved with the national team, but I love that she’s allowing us to show what we can do.”
She is also part of a Washington Spirit rookie class that has played a crucial role in the team’s championship run. Washington has continued its strong run of form despite missing Bethune this season.
The attacking midfielder is in Kansas City with the squad and will be cheering them on from the sidelines.
“I think what makes the team special is our grit, our determination to work hard, but also the trust we have within each other,” Bethune said. “I feel like from the beginning of the season, the exterior of our bubble, everyone else didn’t believe in us or think that we would get this far — especially having a new team and then a new coach come in. But I feel like we stuck together and stayed within our bubble to perform so well.”