The Spirit will have to play their regular-season finale and the playoffs without one of their most reliable players.
The team announced Thursday that midfielder Hal Hershfelt will miss the rest of the season after tearing her right ACL in Sunday’s 2-1 loss to the Kansas City Current. The 25-year-old was injured in the match’s 16th minute when she was trying to stop a cross by Croix Bethune that set up the game-winning goal. Hershfelt played four more minutes before being subbed out.
ACL recoveries tend to take more than six months, which means Hershfelt could miss a significant portion of the 2027 season, too.
In 2026, Hershfelt appeared in 31 matches with a goal and an assist, both of which were game-winners. She also scored a game-winner against Seattle in the 81st minute in May and assisted on Trinity Rodman’s goal against Chicago in September. She has been a defensive force in the Spirit’s midfield as well, known for disrupting opposing attacks.
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The Spirit selected Hershfelt fifth overall out of Clemson in the 2024 NWSL draft, and for the past three seasons she has been a reliable presence in the midfield while occasionally battling injuries. She missed seven matches in 2025 with an ankle sprain and played through a leg injury in the championship match against Gotham FC.
The Spirit are third in the league standings entering Sunday’s matchup against Chicago and have already clinched a playoff spot. The team could finish as high as second or as low as fifth, depending on the results of the regular season’s final games.
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