.jpg) Bethune with theWashington Spirit in 2024 | |||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Croix Collette Bethune[1] | ||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | (2001-03-14)March 14, 2001 (age 24)[2] | ||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Alpharetta, Georgia, U.S. | ||||||||||||||||
| Height | 5 ft 3 in (1.60 m)[3] | ||||||||||||||||
| Position | Attacking midfielder | ||||||||||||||||
| Team information | |||||||||||||||||
Current team | Washington Spirit | ||||||||||||||||
| Number | 7 | ||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||||||||
| Concorde Fire | |||||||||||||||||
| College career | |||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||
| 2021–2022 | USC Trojans | 48 | (26) | ||||||||||||||
| 2023 | Georgia Bulldogs | 15 | (4) | ||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||
| 2024– | Washington Spirit | 37 | (7) | ||||||||||||||
| International career‡ | |||||||||||||||||
| United States U-15 | |||||||||||||||||
| 2017–2018 | United States U-17 | 15 | (7) | ||||||||||||||
| 2024– | United States | 4 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
Medal record
| |||||||||||||||||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of November 22, 2025 ‡ National team caps and goals as of June 29, 2025 | |||||||||||||||||
Croix Collette Bethune (/ˈkrɔɪbəˈθuːn/CROY bə-THOON;[4] born March 14, 2001) is an American professionalsoccer player who plays as anattacking midfielder for theWashington Spirit of theNational Women's Soccer League (NWSL) and theUnited States national team.
Bethune played college soccer for theUSC Trojans andGeorgia Bulldogs, twice being namedfirst-team All-American, before being selected by the Spirit third overall in the2024 NWSL Draft. She tied the league'ssingle-season assist record in her first season and was named theNWSL Rookie of the Year andMidfielder of the Year. Bethune also won a gold medal with the U.S. national team at the2024 Paris Olympics.
Bethune was raised inAlpharetta, Georgia, the daughter ofUnited States Air Force members Richard and Jean Bethune, and has a brother.[5][6] She started playing soccer at age three or four.[7] When she was four, her parents were stationedStratford-upon-Avon, England, for three and a half years, where she played with boys because there was no girls' team.[6][8] She played club soccer for theECNL's Concorde Fire Soccer Club in Atlanta and was named to the national Best XI in 2017 and 2018.[2] She played one season of high school soccer atAlpharetta High School.[5] She also played basketball in high school but chose to focus on soccer after recovering from anACL tear while training with thenational under-17 team.[6][9] She committed to theUniversity of Southern California over schools includingFlorida State,Duke, andUCLA.[8]
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Bethune played three seasons for theUSC Trojans. She missed her freshman 2019 season due to a second ACL tear.[6] On her debut for the Trojans, she provided two assists in a 4–3 overtime win overBYU in spring 2021.[6][10] She scored 16 goals in the fall 2021 season, the third most in a season in program history, including a nine-minutehat trick in the first round of theNCAA tournament.[5][11] In both 2021 and 2022, as captain of the Trojans, she was named first-team All-Pac-12, first-team All-American, and the Pac-12 Midfielder of the Year.[2][6]
Bethune transferred to theGeorgia Bulldogs for the 2023 season, reuniting with former USC coachKeidane McAlpine, after tearing her ACL for a third time while finishing her undergraduate degree at USC.[12][13] She led Georgia to its first postseason title in program history at theSEC tournament in 2023, where she scored an equalizer againstKentucky in the quarterfinals and a last-minute winner overTexas A&M in the semifinals, and was named the tournament's most valuable player.[12] She was named second-team All-SEC and second-team All-American.[2]
TheWashington Spirit selected Bethune third overall in the2024 NWSL Draft; the Spirit acquired the pick by tradingSam Staab to theChicago Red Stars.[14] She signed a three-year contract with an option to extend.[15] She was part of the starting lineup from the opening matchday on March 17, filling the role that belonged to recently tradedAshley Sanchez.[16] She scored her first professional goal in late stoppage time to defeatBay FC 2–1 on March 23.[17] On May 2, she assisted on three goals in a 4–2 win over theChicago Red Stars, becoming the youngest NWSL player to record that many assists in one match.[18] She broke the rookie assist record with her seventh assist of the season on May 10; she also scored that day in a 3–2 win over theSeattle Reign.[19] Her strike in late stoppage time on June 15, salvaging a 1–1 draw against theSan Diego Wave, was votedNWSL Goal of the Week.[20][21]
Bethune provided her tenth assist of the season in a 4–1 win over theKansas City Current on August 25, tying the league record forassists in a season set byTobin Heath in 2016.[22] Four days later, shetore her meniscus while throwing thefirst pitch at aWashington Nationals baseball game, ending her rookie season prematurely; she scored 5 goals in 17 appearances.[23] The Spirit went on to finish the regular season and playoffs runner-up to theOrlando Pride.[24] Bethune was namedNWSL Rookie of the Month a record four times (March/April, May, June, and August).[25] Despite missing the last two months of the season, she was votedNWSL Rookie of the Year andMidfielder of the Year and selected to theNWSL Best XI.[26][27]
After eight months out of action, Bethune made her return from the meniscus injury in the game againstGotham FC on April 26, 2025.[28] She scored her first goal since the injury on August 23, striking into the net after a crafty dribble in a 3–2 win over Bay FC before an NWSL record crowd atOracle Park.[29]
Bethune was first called up to a youth national team training camp with theUnited States national under-15 team at age 13 in March 2015.[5][30] She helped win the2016 CONCACAF Girls' U-15 Championship, where she was named to the tournament's Best XI team.[31] She was the youngest player on theunder-17 team in November 2016.[32] She played for the winning team at the2018 CONCACAF Women's U-17 Championship and competed at the2018 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup.[33][34] She played friendlies for theunder-23 team in 2022.[35]
Bethune was called into her firstsenior national team camp as a training player in June 2024.[36] Later that month she was named as an alternate to the national team for the2024 Summer Olympics in France.[37] Bethune made her first USWNT appearance on July 13, 2024, in the 81st minute of a friendly Olympic sendoff againstMexico.[38] She was elevated to the main roster at the Olympics because of an injury toJaedyn Shaw and made her Olympic debut in the 79th minute of the third group stage game againstAustralia on July 31.[39][40] The United States went on to win the gold medal, defeatingBrazil 1–0 in the final on a goal fromMallory Swanson.[41]
Anattacking midfielder, Bethune possesses excellent vision and technical skill which make her a standoutpasser.[42][43][44]
| Club | Season | League | Cup[a] | Playoffs[b] | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Washington Spirit | 2024 | NWSL | 17 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 5 |
| 2025 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | ||
| Career total | 25 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 25 | 5 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States | 2024 | 3 | 0 |
| 2025 | 1 | 0 | |
| Total | 4 | 0 | |
United States
Washington Spirit
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