Washington Spirit midfielder Hal Hershfelt tore the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in her right knee during Sunday’s match and will miss the rest of the 2026 NWSL season and start of 2027.
Washington announced on Thursday that Hershfelt has been placed on the season-ending injury list. Hershfelt left Sunday’s 2-1 loss to the Kansas City Current in the 20th minute after receiving medical attention on the field.
Hershfelt’s injury is a major blow to a Washington Spirit team attempting to win the NWSL Championship next month after back-to-back runners-up finishes in the past two finals. This year’s NWSL Championship will be hosted in the Spirit’s home stadium, Audi Field, on Nov. 22.
Washington heads into Sunday’s final regular-season match in third place and out of contention for the NWSL Shield. The Spirit would host a quarterfinal in early November with a top-four finish. They can finish anywhere between second and fifth on Sunday depending on results.
Hershfelt has been a constant presence in the Spirit’s midfield, making 31 appearances across all competitions this year as Washington stayed toward the top of the NWSL all year and finished runners-up in the Concacaf W Champions Cup.
She registered one goal and one assist — each of which was a game-winning goal contribution — across 2,400 minutes of league play.
Hershfelt was the fifth overall pick in the 2024 NWSL Draft (the league’s final entry draft) after playing college soccer at Clemson University.
She started 23 of 25 games for the Spirit as a rookie, scoring two goals and helping Washington finish second in the regular season and runners-up in the NWSL Championship. The Spirit repeated those feats in 2025, when Hershfelt played in 18 games.
Hershfelt was subbed off the field in the final minutes of the 2025 NWSL Championship after sustaining a leg injury late in the match.
Spirit head coach Adrian Gonzalez decided to play with 10 players while Hershfelt received medical attention off the field. Hershfelt returned to the field with a noticeable limp and stretched for and missed the ball that was passed to Gotham FC midfielder Rose Lavelle for the game-winning goal.
Hershfelt is known around the NWSL as a hard-nosed defensive midfielder. She was named to the NWSL’s Second Best XI as a rookie.
She has five caps for the United States women’s national team. Hershfelt made her debut on Oct. 24, 2024, in a 3-1 win exhibition over Iceland. Hershfelt was named as an alternate to the 2024 Olympics team that won a gold medal, but she did not appear in a matchday roster.
She and third goalkeeper Jane Campbell did not make gameday rosters, which was a requirement for alternates to receive a medal.
