It’s been a challenging offseason for the Washington Spirit, who went from losing a championship in an extraordinarily cruel fashion to seeing numerous starters depart or get injured. After all those changes, a new-look Spirit side will be tested right out of the gate, as they’re hosting the 2016 NWSL champions. The Western New York Flash were the side who took the title out of Washington’s hands, but they’ve since moved south and become the North Carolina Courage.
Key player: Katie Stengel
As the Flash last year, North Carolina scored 40 goals in 20 regular season games (that’s five more than anyone else), and then produced 6 more goals in two overtime playoff matches.