Marissa Sheva recalled standing in midfield front of over 75,000 fans in the Sydney’s Stadium Australia in awe. The midfielder was preparing to play for the Republic of Ireland in the opening match of the 2023 Women’s World Cup against host Australia in front of a record crowd.
Before the game began, all Sheva could hear was Irish fans singing. Pockets of Irish chants continued throughout the game, reminding the 26-year-old and her teammates to own their underdog status against the host nation and enjoy the moment.
“Running out onto the field in front of 80,000 people in Sydney was one of the most incredible experiences of my life and of my career so far,” she said. “It’s gonna take a while to top that one.”
Over a month later, Sheva is back in D.C., preparing the latter half of the National Women’s Soccer League season with the Washington Spirit. Filled with a renewed spirit after playing for Ireland, the midfielder said she is excited to contribute and help Washington return back to the playoffs.
“I’m ready. I’m feeling good, and I’m fully back in the mix,” Sheva said. “It feels good, and I’m excited for the rest of the season.”
World Cup memories
Sheva was one of six Spirit players selected by her respective national team to play in the 2023 tournament. After joining Washington in 2022 as a COVID-19 replacement player, the Sellersville, Pennsylvania, native found her way into the final roster by the end of the year and signed a new one-year deal in the offseason.
She soon began receiving call-ups for the Irish, playing her first match for the Girls in Green in February. While she has only played 13 games for the Spirit in all competitions and scored once, Sheva made Ireland’s final 23-player roster.
Playing in Group B with Australia, Canada (who won Olympic gold in the Tokyo Olympics) and 11-time Women’s African Cup of Nations winners Nigeria, Ireland were placed in the “Group of Death,” Sheva said.
Yet, in the first game against the Matildas, Ireland held its own until a penalty kick was awarded after Sheva knocked Hayley Raso to the ground. Australia converted the spot kick, the game’s only goal, with Sheva seen in tears after the game. She posted on her Instagram page that she is “still trying to find the words to describe” what happened during the match.
Against the Canadians, Ireland scored its first goal in tournament history but ended up losing 2-1 with Sheva playing a substitute role. In their group finale against Nigeria, Ireland battled to earn a scoreless draw but was eliminated from the tournament with only 1 point in group play.
Sheva finished playing 102 minutes and claimed that if the group stage was replayed again, Ireland could “squeak it out” to the next round.
“I think we proved that we’re capable of playing against and competing with the top teams in the world,” Sheva said. “And I think it was a decent showing for us.”
Her lasting memory will be the Canada match as her teammate Katie McCabe score Ireland’s first-ever Women’s World Cup goal in spectacular fashion: curling a corner kick straight into the goal for the first ‘Olimpico’ in tournament history. Along with the goal, Irish supporters in Perth outnumbered Canadian fans, Sheva said, giving her “goosebumps” as they sang the national anthem.
“I know the Canadian players were looking around during the anthem … and thinking like ‘what the heck is going on?’ because it felt like a home game for us,” She said about the Canada match. “The fans in Perth against Canada were rowdier than even our send off game in Dublin against France. So yeah, that was an incredible experience.”
Returning to DC
Following elimination, the Spirit’s training staff contacted Sheva to slowly bring her back to the fold once she returned to D.C. While some of her other Spirit teammates traveled to other remote locations, Sheva headed to Portland to spend time with friends while dealing with the jet lag.
She continued to watch World Cup matches but slowly transitioned back to watching the Spirit play in the Challenge Cup. When she arrived to D.C., head coach Mark Parsons gave her and other World Cup players a week off before bringing them back to training. She met with the medical team for a full check up before meeting with the training staff to start light workouts and recovery work.
“I feel like because we transition so quickly right back into season, I don’t feel like it’s really hit me yet,” she said about transitioning back to club season after the World Cup. “I feel like I needed a significant amount of time off for it to really sink in everything that happened in July.”
The Spirit signed two players during the World Cup period, defender Annaïg Butel and forward Ouleymata Sarr, to strength the roster. While she’s enjoyed getting to know them — including learning “really bad French” — Sheva said their arrival “stirs things up a bit” in an already competitive environment in training.
“Maybe I continue to be a versatile sub at the moment or maybe he really sees me in the midfield or outlined in this formation,” she said. “I think being a versatile player in this league is really important because stuff like this happens all the time. Injuries happen all the time, and just got to be able to take what you can get at times.”
Late push begins with revenge game
The return of Sheva and the rest of Washington’s World Cup players coincides with the return of the NWSL season. As of Saturday, the Spirit (6-3-7, 25 points) sit in fifth place in the 12-team league where the top six sides head to the postseason.
Some of the returning players have already hit the ground running, as U.S. backup goalkeeper and Spirit captain Aubrey Kingsburg played all 90 minutes in Washington 1-1 draw in Houston on Aug. 19. Midfielder Ashley Sanchez — who did not play in the Women’s World Cup for the U.S. — only needed 60 seconds as a sub to make an impact, striking a volley to score Washington’s only goal.
62′: Ashley Sanchez enters the game
63′: Ashley Sanchez scores a goalThe @WashSpirit take the lead in Houston! 👏 pic.twitter.com/9qcwnglJV5
— National Women’s Soccer League (@NWSL) August 20, 2023
Three of Washington’s next four matches will be at home, starting with a meeting with the reigning NWSL champions Portland Thorns. The last minute between both sides ended with the Spirit losing 4-2 on the road in June in the last game for the club’s World Cup stars before heading to the tournament.
Sheva says she sees the matchup as a “revenge game.”
“I think that we left the Spirit with like a little sour taste in our mouths, because that’s not how we wanted to leave,” Sheva said. “Those weren’t the terms we wanted to leave on.”
Along with the new player acquisitions, the Spirit ramped up its marketing campaign with ads plastered all over D.C., including on sidewalks and Metro buses. With the increased attention toward the sport, Sheva hopes the team can shine a spotlight on its push for the postseason.
“I’m excited that we’re going to be home,” she said. “There’s a push for a really big crowd [and] we’ll deliver with that because it’s a big game. It’s against Portland. It’s perfect time, Sunday night [at] 5 p.m. It’s going to be awesome.”
