As Friday night’s match against the Kansas City Current ticked past the 70-minute mark, the Washington Spirit was already staring down a 3-0 deficit against one of the league’s contenders. Then a bad night took a turn for worse.
Trinity Rodman, the star forward who has powered the Spirit to second place in the NWSL, went down clutching at her back after making contact with Kansas City’s Temwa Chawinga in the 75th minute. Trainers attended to Rodman for nearly five minutes on the sideline before she left the field in a wheelchair, a towel covering her face. She remained on the Spirit’s bench for the final minutes of the match.