Washington Spirit sign Marissa Sheva to roster

Dec 2, 2022 - 12:42 AM

The Washington Spirit have re-signed midfielder Marissa Sheva to a one-year contract for the 2023 season, the team announced yesterday.

A Penn State alumna, Sheva played briefly for Utah Royals FC and Spain’s Deportivo Alavés Gloriosas in 2020, before signing with the Spirit as a COVID-19 replacement player in June 2022. The Spirit were clearly impressed with Sheva’s performance: they brought her back repeatedly on short-term replacement deals and finally added her to the active roster in August.

Sheva played in 8 games for the Spirit in 2022 and started all 3 games in which players were absent for national team duty.

I couldn’t be more excited to be back for 2023,” Sheva said in the Spirit press release. “I love this team, and the vision for the future of this club is world-class. I’m so thankful for the opportunity!”

Sheva’s signing is the first roster addition the Spirit have announced this offseason, although not exactly a surprise. The team revealed that they had made her an offer when they released their end-of-season roster on November 15. The Spirit have yet to announce whether Julia Roddar and Camryn Biegalski –the other players to whom offers were made – have signed new agreements with the team.

Re-signing Sheva brings the number of midfielders on the team to 7, while there are only 2 defenders and 1 goalkeeper currently under contract. The fact that the Spirit are bringing back a talented and reliable player is good news, but they have a long way to go before they’re ready to field a full team, let alone improve on their 2022 season results.

2023 Roster Summary

Goalkeepers (1): Aubrey Kingsbury

Defenders (2): Emily Sonnett; Sam Staab

Midfielders (7): Jordan Baggett; Dorian Bailey; Bayley Feist; Anna Heilferty; Ashley Sanchez; Marissa Sheva; Andi Sullivan

Forwards (4): Maddie Elwell; Ashley Hatch; Tara McKeown; Trinity Rodman