The Spirit went local to boost their midfield depth
The Washington Spirit addressed a need heading into the 2022 season today, trading $25,000 in allocation money and their natural 2023 4th round draft pick to the Kansas City Current in exchange for midfielder/defender Gaby Vincent.
Vincent, 24, hails from Columbia, MD, and recently had her contract option exercised by Kansas City. After a collegiate career with the University of Louisville, Vincent went undrafted, but earned her way onto the Utah Royals roster by impressing in an open try-out. Vincent would go on to make 9 appearances for Laura Harvey’s side in 2019. Though she didn’t appear in the 2020 Challenge Cup, she did play twice in the Fall Series. In 2021, with the club moving to Kansas City, she took on a bigger role. Vincent appeared in 16 of KC’s 24 matches (starting 11 times), largely playing as an anchor midfielder for Huw Williams.
At 5’8”, Vincent has experience at center back as well, which may be important in a 2022 season that figures to include numerous conflicts with international call-ups. At Vincent’s positions, the Spirit — who just lost Paige Nielsen in the expansion draft — will very likely be without Andi Sullivan, Emily Sonnett, Saori Takarada, and Karina Rodríguez, all of whom are regulars for their respective national teams.
The move brings the Spirit up to 26 players under contract, not including the five players they drafted during yesterday’s college draft. With the Spirit spending allocation money to get three of those picks, there’s a potential logjam on the roster, as NWSL rules include a 28-player maximum. During the draft, head coach Kris Ward alluded to more moves to come in the coming days.