Ashley Hatch’s season came to an end Saturday when her Washington Spirit fell to the Orlando Pride in the 2024 NWSL Championship.
Hatch tried to score the equalizing goal in the 1-0 loss. She had five shots in the game but none found the back of the net.
The former BYU Cougar took to Instagram on Tuesday to reflect on the season.
“Proud is the word that comes to mind as I reflect back on this season. I’m so proud of this group and the growth that we saw together. I love every single one of these women and will cherish the memories we made and the lessons we learned this year forever,” Hatch wrote.
The Spirit forward then closed her message with gratitude.
“Thank you to our fans, our friends, and family for cheering us on and supporting us through it all. Hope to see you all next year,” she said.
Ashley Hatch’s 2024 NWSL season
2024 featured a lot of change for both the Spirit and Hatch.
This season, the Spirit hired a new head coach: Jonatan Giráldez. Hatch told the Deseret News in October that Giráldez “has helped us all see the game a little bit differently.”
Hatch’s role also changed this season. After a slow start and only two goals scored, she was removed from the starting lineup for eight games and relegated to coming off the bench.
During her time on the bench, Hatch continued to show up and work hard every day.
“I think knowing that at some point the team is really gonna need me and wanting to be ready for that, that really motivated me, even if I wasn’t seeing minutes at that particular time. I wanted to be ready for whatever was asked of me, and if the team needed me, I wanted to feel confident enough that I could step up and help the team and play like myself and be myself,” she said.
She earned her starting role back and went on to score five more goals — for a total of seven — in the final seven games of the season.
“It’s just lots of hard work every single day at training and just being hungry for any opportunity,” she said of her late season scoring surge.
After failing to make the playoffs last season, Hatch and the Spirit ultimately earned the second seed in the 2024 playoffs as the second-best team in the league.
This season, Hatch became the 35th player to play in 150 NWSL games. Her seven goals also pushed her into fifth place on the NWSL’s all-time scoring leader list with 53 career regular season goals, as the Deseret News previously reported.
Hatch is under contract with the Spirit through the 2026 season and has a player option for 2027 after signing a contract extension before the start of this season.