In a sold-out match, Washington Spirit drew San Diego Wave FC 1-1 at Audi Field in Buzzard Point last night. The Spirit trailed much of the match, despite having most of the chances, until Croix Bethune scored the equalizer in the sixth minute of stoppage time, giving Washington their first draw of the season.

With both Andi Sullivan and Kate Wiesner out, Washington needed to reshuffle their lineup, starting Paige Metayer and Courtney Brown in their places. Sullivan especially was missed during the match for her on-field leadership and organizing. Still, the Spirit started strong and dominated play early, with a few shots stopped by either Wave goalkeeper Kailen Sheridan or the woodwork.

In the 20th minute, the Wave were able to score a goal that Alex Morgan later called “against the run of play.” Maria Sánchez placed a cross perfectly in front of the Spirit goal, where an on-running Jaedyn Shaw was able to meet it for an easy goal. The goal signaled a change in momentum, and the Spirit struggled to put together a strong attack for the next 15 minutes.

Washington’s lineup got even stranger when Gabby Carle needed to leave the field around halftime after a head collision. Ashley Hatch entered the game for her, pushing Brown to midfield and Hal Hershfelt to the backline. The unusual combination of players didn’t hinder the Spirit too much though. They kept things relatively even throughout the match, denying San Diego many quality chances, especially in the second half when they adjusted their shape to account for the Wave’s width.

As time wore on in the second half, the crowd at Audi Field got eerily quiet. Washington were outshooting their opponents — the final tally would be 17 shots to San Diego’s seven — but the Wave’s strong defense was forcing many of those shots wide or into the hands of Sheridan. Likely trying to revive the fans’ flagging energy, Spirit staff tried to get them to do the wave at one point, an odd choice considering their team’s opponent.

Speaking after the match, Bethune and Kingsbury said the large crowd did not place any extra pressure on them but served more as motivation to score and send fans home happy. Bethune also described the team as maintaining focus on pushing for an equalizer, even as their many chances were stymied.

“At the end of the day, I had a feeling that we weren’t going to lose,” she said.

Finally, a last-minute push by Washington proved Bethune right. Casey Krueger, who’d been putting in a major effort to create chances for her team all evening, made a long-range pass toward San Diego’s goal. Wave center back Abby Dahlkemper got underneath the ball but, with her back to the goal, flicked it backwards, where Bethune was able to settle it with her chest. Sheridan moved to close her angle, but Bethune calmly slotted the ball between the goalkeeper and the near post with her left foot.

Although he described the game as a “learning moment” for his team, interim head coach Adrián González saw it as a win for the Spirit.

“For me, it’s more than one point if I’m honest,” González said. “I take this as a great game, and I’m sure in the future it will help us.”

Three takeaways 

• Halfway mark. After this match, the Spirit are officially halfway through the season with a record of 9-1-3. The draw keeps them in third-place, just one point behind Kansas City Current and Orlando Pride, both of whom also drew this weekend. The back half of the season could be tricky for the team, though; nine of the 13 remaining matches are against teams in playoff contention.
• Attendance record. Washington Spirit reported a crowd of 19,897 at the match, nearly reaching Audi Field’s capacity and passing the Spirit’s previous record of 19,471, set in 2019 after the U.S. Women’s National Team won the World Cup. González said he was “very happy and grateful” for the support and that his team deserved this level of fandom, given the way they’ve been playing.
• Injury check-in. Post-match, González reported that Sullivan and Wiesner’s injuries were not major and that the team chose to keep them out of the match out of precaution. He was unwilling to speculate on whether they would be available for next weekend’s match against NJ/NY Gotham FC, though. González also said he did not believe Carle had a concussion, despite being unable to continue in this game.

Box Score

NWSL Regular Season –  Game 13

Washington Spirit 1 (Bethune 90+6′)

San Diego Wave FC 1 (Shaw 20′)

Lineups

Washington Spirit (4231): Aubrey Kingsbury (C); Casey Krueger, Annaïg Butel, Tara McKeown, Gabby Carle (Ashley Hatch 45′); Croix Bethune, Hal Hershfelt, Paige Metayer; Trinity Rodman; Ouleye Sarr (Brittany Ratcliffe 78′), Courtney Brown

San Diego Wave FC (4231): Kailen Sheridan; Kristen McNabb, Naomi Girma, Abby Dahlkemper (C), Hanna Lundkvist; Savannah McCaskill, Danny Colaprico, Jaedyn Shaw (Emily Van Egmond 78′); Maria Sánchez (Kyra Carusa 78′), Alex Morgan (Kaitlyn Torpey 86′), Sofia Jakobsson (Makenzy Doniak 63′)

Misconduct Summary

Washington Spirit: Hershfelt 46′, Rodman 82′

San Diego Wave FC: Dahlkemper 21′, Colaprico 48′, Morgan 66′, Torpey 87′