The Wait Is Over

Coming Home

With the weekend behind them, the Washington Spirit enter the international break looking to resurrect their season from the ash bin of the Eastern Conference. This starts with a Monday morning press conference, where the team's new coaching staff is announced.

Becky Sauerbrunn: Thank you for coming out this morning. As you know, I fired Jim Gabarra following Saturday's loss in Portland. The team has been struggling from the get-go this season and we couldn't wait any longer to make this move. In the two games he was away, the team looked more confident and the spirit of the squad was positive. With that in mind, we decided that we would make a change during the international break to allow Jim's replacement ample time to make adjustments to the team before his or her first match in charge. That change was supposed to come this morning, but due to negative actions following the match on Saturday, I decided to pull the plug immediately. A sincere thank you goes to Sarah Huffman for handling things the past couple of days and getting our team home yesterday. With that, I hand the mic over to our general manager, Lori Lindsey.

Lori Lindsey: When the decision was made to hire a new head coach, we considered what attributes were necessary for the person to have in order to best lead this team, and we believe we have found that person. Ladies and gentlemen, the new head coach of the Washington Spirit, Joanna Lohman.

Joanna walks to the podium and gives Lori a hug before stepping in front of the mics.

Joanna Lohman: Thank you, Lori. When I retired following the 2018 season, I thought that I would slide into an assistant's job somewhere in the league and then eventually advance into a head coaching position. After a couple of off-seasons with no bites, I joined Lori at the Spirit Academy, using my knowledge of the game to prepare the next generation of Spirit players. When DelMarVa purchased the club and Lori became general manager, I slid across the cubicle to oversee the rest of the academy season. I didn't think that this opportunity would come so quickly following the shake-up at the start of April. I am honored that Becky and Lori have faith enough in me to entrust me with the position I am now entering. In tandem with my assistant, Sarah Huffman, we will lead the Spirit back to its rightful place among the top teams in the NWSL. More so, we will restore the club's good name that has been tarnished by the actions of my predecessor. The cupboard isn't bare here, but there is dust collecting in it. It will take time to build a roster capable of challenging the depth of Boston, Orlando, and Atlanta in the East, and it might look like we're taking a step backwards in the process. but we will right the ship and inject a new spirit into the club. I will answer any questions you have.

Steven Goff: Joanna, how do you plan to undo the moves made by Jim in the off-season which decimated a side that played for the NWSL championship the previous October?

Joanna: Actually, that's a question for Lori to provide her insight on.

Lori: As I mentioned when I was made general manager six weeks ago, we would enter the trade market in search of players that could come to Washington and mesh with the team in place. Unfortunately, we haven't been able to add new talent to the fold yet, but have not given up on bringing new players to the club.

Jimmy LaRoue: Gabarra's adherence to a 4-3-3 exacerbated gaps in the team's defensive shape. Do you plan to stick with it or move to a different formation?

Joanna: I think you saw in the games against Boston and Philadelphia that we looked more comfortable playing a 4-4-2 with dual center midfielders, and I believe that is how we'll come out on the 28th against the Dash.

Beau Dure: Will Shelina Zadorsky retain the armband or do you have someone else in mind as your captain?

Joanna: Shelina has been a leader for this team for several years and deserves to remain as captain.