Washington Spirit release Crystal Thomas

The Washington Spirit have waived forward Crystal Thomas. The Georgetown product was only signed by the club on April 27th, but had spent the entire preseason training with the first team. Thomas made one appearance during her time on the roster, coming on for the final half hour against the Houston Dash late last month.

With the acquisition of Mallory Pugh last week, the Spirit had filled the last of their 20 available roster spots. However, the club has three players - Caprice Dydasco, Cali Farquharson, and Kelsey Wys - on the NWSL’s 45 day disabled list, and Dydasco is very close to regaining the fitness and sharpness that would allow Washington to move her back onto the active roster.

Of course, that’s not the only factor here. Earlier this week, the Spirit confirmed on Twitter that they have another signing in the works:

Given that the number 10 is virtually always given to an attacking player, and that said player is so close to being announced that Washington would discuss this publicly, it’s safe to say that moving a forward on a team full of them - there are 8 forwards or midfielder/forwards on the roster, and Farquharson will make it 9 when she returns - is a logical move.

In all likelihood, the new player will be announced before Dydasco is ready to be named to a gameday roster, which means the Spirit will probably have to let someone else go in the near future. However, with a robust reserve team playing in the WPSL, players like Thomas will still be around the club and will still have an avenue towards rejoining the roster.