Spirit’s Croix Bethune suffers season-ending knee injury in first at Nationals | News, scores, highlights, stats and rumors

Washington Spirit outfielder Croix Bethune suffered a torn meniscus that ended her season, an injury that likely occurred after she threw the first pitch before the Washington Nationals game.

Bethune, who was an alternate for the United States women’s national team at the 2024 Summer Olympics, was honored along with other Spirit teammates before the Nationals’ 5-2 victory over the New York Yankees on Aug. 28.

This Washington Post‘S Steven Goff reported that the 23-year-old injured her knee while throwing. Goff noted that she had previously suffered three anterior cruciate ligament injuries in high school and college.

In its announcement, Spirit said only that the torn meniscus occurred “outside of training last week,” with coach Jonatan Giráldez alluding to the cause after Sunday’s 1-1 draw with San Diego Wave FC.

“She had trouble throwing the first pitch in a baseball game,” he told reporters. “She won’t be available this season. It’s part of life. You have to move on.”

Bethune was the third overall pick in the 2024 NWSL Draft. She has made 17 appearances for Washington and is third on the team in goals (five) and leads the league with 10 assists.

The Spirit are second in the NWSL standings with 38 points, six points behind leaders Orlando Pride with eight games remaining in the regular season.