The Washington Spirit are in the NWSL championship game against the Western New York Flash after a season in which they topped the table for most of the year. That probably paints a settled sort of picture for folks that haven’t followed the team closely, but that picture would be inaccurate. Certain positions have been settled for Washington - the midfield trio is locked in, for example - and we know Crystal Dunn will definitely start somewhere along the front line.
However, coach Jim Gabarra has often shown a preference for tailoring his lineup to the opponent. Throw in an Olympic break that came almost 75% of the way through the season, and a desire to get many different forwards with little NWSL experience acclimated, and the path to having an unpredictable starting eleven at this stage starts to become more clear.