Croix Bethune was swept up in the best kind of whirlwind for the first seven months of her professional soccer career.
It began in January 2024, when the University of Georgia playmaker went third overall to the Washington Spirit in the NWSL draft. Then came the unprecedented instant impact — to the tune of five goals and nine assists in her first 14 matches. Her surge on the international stage was even more surreal: A first U.S. women’s national team call-up, a summons to the Paris Olympics and a gold medal around her neck.