Welcome to the Spirits!
After a bit of a false start last week when Olympique Lyonnais tweeted, then deleted, the move, the Washington Spirit have now made it official! Inès Jaurena will head from France to Washington, DC to join the Spirit ahead of the 2023 season.
Official Official
— Washington Spirit (@WashSpirit) February 7, 2023
In 2021/22 Jaurena started 21 matches, appearing in 24 overall, for Lyon in the league and Champions League. That season she played all around the midfield, from left, right and central midfield, to defensive and attacking midfield as well. This season she made four starts and five appearances, at both right back and center back. As a player, the thing that stands out about Jaurena regardless of position is that she absolutely loves winning the ball. Whether it’s interceptions or tackles, she hunts and, more often than not, wins.
Though she’s positionally versatile, the press release labels her a midfielder and discusses her joining the deep midfield group at the Spirit. Assuming that’s not just smoke an mirrors, particularly since Sam Staab still doesn’t have a publicly recognized center back partner on the roster, Jaurena will be a welcome addition to the team and their new aim under Parsons of proactively winning the ball.
Some Spirit fans may be unsurprised by this, but Jaurena also spent her college career at Florida State, under then-head coach, now-President of Soccer Operations for the Washington Spirit, Mark Krikorian. While the Florida State to Washington Spirit pipeline continues, it’s also true that each coach and player has filled a specific need.
“I am so excited to join the Washington Spirit. I have followed the club since my former Florida State teammate Tori Huster joined the team. It makes sense for me to come back to America and join such an impressive professional league. I was delighted when the Spirit reached out to me and I cannot wait to see the magic of Audi Field.” -Inès Jaurena; source: Washington Spirit
Jaurena has signed a one year contract, so you all know what to do, let’s show her plenty of that Audi Field magic when she makes her debut. Welcome, Jaurena!