After the first half seemed to spell certain defeat last night for the Washington Spirit, their high press and problem-solving abilities came through in the second, allowing them to win 3-1 against the Houston Dash in Houston.

Continuing an unfortunate trend, the Spirit started slow and conceded in a goal in the first minutes of the game for the third time this season. When Houston took a short corner kick in the second minute of the match, Washington defended the pass in poorly and allowed Natalie Jacobs an easy shot on goal.

The Spirit tried to respond quickly, attacking Houston’s goal area for the next several minutes, but they ultimately allowed the Dash to control much of the first half. Although they had a few chances, the Spirit had trouble getting past Houston’s front line when building out of the back and relied heavily on Trinity Rodman’s brilliance to move the ball.

Things changed in the second half. Washington came out looking energized, pressing high and, according to interim head coach Adrián González, changed their shape slightly to counteract Houston’s wingbacks. The change paid off quickly. In the 56th minute, the Spirit finally got one back, turning the tables on Houston as they tried to build out of the back. Both Ouleye Sarr and Croix Bethune pressed high, with Bethune pressuring the defender and Sarr swiping the ball off her feet. Sarr then made a quick pass to the nearby Hal Hershfelt, who struck the ball with enough power to neutralize Dash goalkeeper Jane Campbell’s block and give her team an equalizer.

After some back and forth play, Washington’s superior coordination began to tilt the game in their favor. In the 82nd minute, Casey Krueger made a long pass to Brittany Ratcliffe, who patiently moved the ball to the top center of Houston’s goal area, dragging three Dash defenders with her. Despite the pressure, Ratcliffe took the time to choose her shot and hit a powerful strike into the corner of Houston’s goal, putting Washington in the lead.

Two minutes later, Washington scored again. After a strong build-up play, the Spirit found themselves with the ball in the attacking third. There, Hershfelt switched play to the right side of the field to Gabby Carle, made a perfectly-placed cross to the far-post. Rushing up unmarked, Bethune was able to flip the ball back to the right and past Campbell for the Spirit’s third goal of the night.

Already disorganized, Houston were further deflated by being forced to go down a player after Kiki Van Zanten was injured without any remaining substitutions. The Spirit remained fully in control of the match through stoppage time, maintaining the ball and generally slowing down play to see their way through to victory.

Despite a shaky first half, the Spirit have a lot to be proud of, holding the Dash to just one shot on goal and winning their first road game since June 18, 2023. They’ll return home next weekend on a three-win hot streak.

Box Score

NWSL Regular Season –  Game 4

Houston Dash 1 (Jacobs 2′)

Washington Spirit 3 (Hershfelt 52′, Ratcliffe 82′, Bethune 84′)

Lineups

Houston Dash (352): Jane Campbell (C); Natalie Jacobs (Courtney Peterson 45’+3), Sophie Schmidt, Sarah Puntigam; Elin Rubensson, María Sánchez, Yuki Nagasato (Havana Solaun 56′), Avery Patterson (Kiki Van Zanten 78′), Diana Ordóñez; Amanda West (Cece Kizer 78′), Andressa Alves (Michelle Alozie 63′)

Washington Spirit (4231): Aubrey Kingsbury (C); Casey Krueger, Annaïg Butel, Tara McKeown, Gabby Carle; Croix Bethune (Chloe Ricketts 90′), Andi Sullivan (Paige Metayer 73′), Hal Hershfelt; Trinity Rodman (Lena Silano 90′), Ouleye Sarr (Brittany Ratcliffe 73′), Ashley Hatch (Courtney Brown 65′)

Misconduct Summary

Houston Dash:  Rubensson 78′

Washington Spirit:  Bethune 24′