After a three-match road trip that spanned, conservatively, nine-hundred million miles, the Washington Spirit were back home at Audi Field to take on Angel City FC. In an ultra chaotic, vibey and outrageous six-goal first half the Spirit walked away with all three points, courtesy of a Trinity Rodman brace and more Croix Bethune magic.

The Spirit started the match by mashing their foot on the gas and crafted two good chances in the first four minutes. Whenever that happens there’s a worry that not capitalizing could lead to frustration, but that wasn’t the case as Rodman put the home team up 1-0 courtesy of a low cross from Ouley Sarr after some quality work from Ashley Hatch.

Then, in ultra annoying fashion, a ricocheted shot comes out wide and is fizzed back in and hits the heel of Ana Butel and rolled into the net in the 20th minute. Frustrating, but things happen when twenty-two people chase a ball, so it was time for the Spirit to lock back in and reestablish the flow of the game in their favor.

Except then Sydney Leroux nodded in Angel City’s second after a soft foul outside the box set up a dangerous free kick. After a rampaging start that had the match feeling like it could be a Spirit runaway and crooked scoreline, the home team suddenly found themselves down 2-1 and struggling to reclaim the control they enjoyed in the early stages.

It nearly got worse in the 27th minute when Alyssa Thompson rocketed a shot in from close range, but the flag went up for offside and VAR confirmed the call as correct. Still, it was a sign that the match was very much in the balance, and that the next goal would be crucial.

Thankfully, Trinity Rodman brought her cape to Audi and leveled the score just three minutes later. Casey Krueger lobbed a beautiful pass to Croix Bethune in the box, who controlled it well but slipped at the final moment. Rodman came to the rescue, claiming the ball and taking a touch inside before hitting a low shot that snuck through traffic and by Haracic.

Four minutes later the Spirit were celebrating yet again. This time chaos in the box led to Sarr gesturing with certainty that a ball had crossed the line, but while she pleaded a scramble ensued. Thankfully, Casey Krueger was able to get decisive contact and the ripple of the net left no question. In a remarkable turn of events the Spirit were up a goal after 9 minutes, down 1-2 fourteen minutes later, level at 2-2 seven minutes after that, and leading 3-2 just four minutes after that.

You thought they were done though? Lol. Lmao. Hilarious.

Two minutes after reclaiming their lead the Spirit produced yet another goal. This goal came from Croix Bethune doing evil Croix Bethune things to the defense, and may have been the best of the bunch. She received a ball with half the pitch to run at the defense, dribbled right into a cul de sac of defenders and just when they thought they had her, she clipped the ball into space for Sarr to finish.

Unfortunately some time after the goal, Ouleye Sarr picked up an ankle injury that was serious enough to make Adrián González sub Kate Wiesner into the attack. Sarr was seen walking to the bench gingerly with an ice pack wrapped around her ankle.

A chaotic half came to an end after nine minutes of stoppage time, leaving Audi full of delirious fans who’d just watched a historic, rollercoaster of a half.

My chaotic side is sad to report that the second half was nothing like the first. My pragmatic side is pleased to note that this was by design, with the Spirit using a combination of personnel tweaks (Casey Krueger and Gabby Carle swapping flanks), a coordinated press to break up buildup, patience in possession, and compact defending to dull the match for Angel City.

The Spirit created a couple big chances, and to be fair Angel City created one as well, but the football gods decided there’d been enough goals on the day. A bright start was erased by two opposition goals (including an own goal), then a roaring response from the Spirit that secured their seventh win of the season.

Three takeaways 

• A rollercoaster of emotions
  The Spirit successfully pulled off a rare fast start to a game, creating multiple chances before the 5th minute, and going up 1-0 before the tenth. An early goal typically sets a tone, and the Spirit seemed to have accomplished that. So when they went down 1-2 after that, the Audi was stunned. Then the Spirit scored three goals in six minutes to reclaim their lead, and then some.
• Croix Bethune is a baller
  Bethune already has the ability to audibly elevate the expectations of the crowd whenever the ball gets to her feet. Her assist to Sarr was clever, but she was causing havoc among Angel City defenders for the majority of the match. At one point she received a pass and spun between two defenders, forcing one to choose a rugby tackle rather than allow her to exploit the space she created. Bethune’s reaction? A vigorous clap from the seated position as the referee blew the whistle.
• Playing with and without the ball
  This was yet another game that bucked the expectation that Spanish coaches – and in particular, eventually, Barcelona’s actual coach – would insist on possession at all costs. That hasn’t been the case. In the first half Angel City dominated possession, with 70% of the ball. The second half was more even, but the overall possession figure at the end of the games was 38/62, in favor of Angel City. Instead of possession for possession’s sake, the Spirit are showing they can play in a variety of ways, and use out-of-possession structures to defend, and be ready to attack once possession is gained.

Box Score

NWSL Regular Season –  Game 10

Washington Spirit: 4 (Rodman 9′, Rodman 30′, Krueger 34′, Sarr 36′)

Angel City: 2 (20′ Butel [OG], Leroux 23′)

Lineups

Washington Spirit (4231): Aubrey Kingsbury (C); Casey Krueger, Annaïg Butel, Tara McKeown, Gabby Carle; Andi Sullivan (Paige Metayer 87′), Hal Hershfelt; Ashley Hatch (Courtney Brown 70′), Croix Bethune (Lena Silano 87′), Trinity Rodman (Brittany Ratcliffe 87′); Ouleymata Sarr (Wiesner 45+4)

Angel City (433): Didi Haračić; Madi Curry, Sarah Gorden (Jasmyne Spencer 15′), Megan Reid, Gisele Thompson (Merritt Mathias 77′); Clarisses LeBihan (M.A. Vignola 70′), Lily Nabet (Madison Hammond 70′), Rocky Rodriguez; Claire Emslie, Sydney Leroux (Messiah Bright 77′), Alyssa Thompson

Misconduct Summary

Washington Spirit: None

Angel City: Nabet, 43′; Curry, 45+2; Spencer, 61′; G. Thompson, 65′; Emslie, 90+4

Lead image courtesy of the Washington Spirit