A lot of small errors made a big difference for Washington Spirit Sunday night, as an early penalty kick, a recalled goal, and a DOGSO red card added up to a 1-0 loss to Seattle Reign FC.

The tough knocks came early. In the first minute, Gabby Carle was called for a foul in the box, and the referee awarded Seattle a penalty. Bethany Balcer slotted the ball easily into the net, sending Aubrey Kingsbury and putting her team in a comfortable position with 87 minutes to play.

Washington struggled throughout the first half after going down a goal. Though they stayed ahead on possession, they had difficulty finding open avenues to build up on the attack and overcrowded the ball while defending. Some strong saves by Kingsbury saw them through an early onslaught and into halftime.

In the second half, the Spirit came out better organized, thanks in no small part to Casey Krueger’s move from center back to right back after Kate Wiesner came off injured in first half stoppage time. From that position, Krueger was better incorporated into the attack and helped with several chances, including the team’s best in the 54th minute. Andi Sullivan made a pass into the box, where Krueger received the ball and made her own first-touch pass to put it in front of the goal. Unfortunately, Ouleye Sarr was just short of getting her foot on the ball.

The team got another, more disheartening chance, in the 67th minute, after earning a corner kick. Sullivan took the kick, placing her pass at the far post. Krueger got her head on it, and the ball hit the back of the goal after a deflection. Washington’s joy at equalizing was short-lived as the referee indicated that the goal was under review and eventually disqualified it based on contact between Croix Bethune and Reign goalkeeper Claudia Dickey.

The Spirit stayed in the match after that, but neither they nor the Reign had many quality chances until a long pass from Jess Fishlock near the end of regulation time was snatched away from a Reign attacker at the top of the box. After lengthy VAR review, the referee determined that the ball had not yet crossed into the area when Kingsbury grabbed it and issued the goalkeeper a red card for Denying an Obvious Goal-Scoring Opportunity despite the Spirit defender positioned equally close to the ball.

Back-up keeper Lyza Bosselmann subbed on for her, making her professional debut and keeping things under control for the 13 minutes of stoppage time, but neither team looked particularly dangerous, and the game fizzled out with the same score it had had since minute three.

Three takeaways

• Reliance on rookies. With six first-year professionals on the roster, it was clear Washington was going to give their rookies a lot of responsibility. That started off earlier in the season than expected. Six Spirit players made their professional debuts tonight, and three of them – Croix Bethune, Hal Hershfelt, and Kate Wiesner – made the Starting XI. Fellow rookies Courtney Brown and Makenna Morris subbed on in the second half. Hopefully Sullivan was right when she said post-match, “Trial by fire’s probably the best way to debut.”
• Attacking issues. It’s tough to draw conclusions from the first match of the season, but tonight’s game showed there’s a lot of work to be done in the Spirit attack. Washington ended the game with an xG of just .04, having made only two shots. Especially early in the match, the team failed to incorporate central attackers Croix Bethune and Ashley Hatch into the action, and players frequently found themselves beat to balls in the attacking third. Trinity Rodman’s return from suspension next week will help with some of this, but the Spirit also need to improve communication and positioning if they are to create chances in their new system.
• Leadership group. After the match, interim head coach Adrián González gave some details on the leadership group for this season. Kingsbury, Sullivan, and Hatch will be captains, while Rodman and Hershfelt are vice-captains. With so many young players on the roster, González said he wanted the captains to “represent the whole team.” Important to note that if Kingsbury’s red card stands, Sullivan will wear the armband at next week’s game.

Box Score

NWSL Regular Season –  Game 1

Seattle Reign FC 1 (Balcer 3′ (Pen))

Washington Spirit 0

Lineups

Seattle Reign FC (442): Claudia Dickey; Sofia Huerta, Shae Holmes (Ryanne Brown 90+5′), Phoebe McClernon, Lily Woodham (Lou Barnes 63′); Jess Fishlock (C), Ji So-Yun, Quinn, Angharad James-Turner (Olivia van der Jagt 63′); Bethany Balcer (Emeri Adamess 90+6′), Jordyn Huitema

Washington Spirit (433): Aubrey Kingsbury (C) (Lyza Bosselmann 90+3′); Gabby Carle, Tara McKeown, Casey Krueger, Kate Wiesner (Annaïg Butel 45’+2); Andi Sullivan, Hal Hershfelt, Croix Bethune; Ouleye Sarr, Ashley Hatch (Courtney Brown 65′), Brittany Ratcliffe (Makenna Morris 65′)

Misconduct Summary

Seattle Reign FC:  none

Washington Spirit:  Wiesner 13′, Krueger 83′, Kingsbury 90+1′ (red)