In a physical match played in high heat, Washington Spirit were able to bring home all three points and a clean sheet, defeating NJ/NY Gotham FC 2-0. The win ended Gotham’s nine-game unbeaten run while extending their own streak to six.

It was a result that looked unlikely for much of the first half. The high-pressing Gotham were effective in pinning the Spirit back into a low block and prevented them from taking any shots for nearly half an hour.

“I think we were a little frantic in the beginning,” Aubrey Kingsbury said after the match. She said that Washington’s spacing

Washington finally broke through with a goal against the run of play in the 27th minute. Croix Bethune forced a turnover near the midfield, letting Ouleye Sarr collect the ball. Sarr passed it back to Bethune who dribbled towards Gotham’s 18-yard line, where she made a flat pass past two Gotham defenders to Courtney Brown. Brown took the Spirit’s first shot of the evening and put them on the scoreboard.

“It was a really, really special moment, something that I’ll never forget,” Brown said of the goal, her first as a professional. “I think the image of the ball hitting the back of the net will be burned in the back of my brain forever.”

Late in first-half stoppage time, Gotham were forced to drop down to 10 players after Yazmeen Ryan received a second yellow card for re-entering the match without permission.

The Spirit came out for the second half ready to press their advantage and were rewarded quickly with a goal by Trinity Rodman. Casey Krueger put in good work, dribbling the ball upfield and pulling towards the middle. Just outside Gotham’s area, she passed to Rodman, who made a hard strike directly into the top corner of Gotham’s goal.

Gotham had a chance to get back in to the match when the Spirit gave up a penalty kick in the 88th minute for a handball. But they were no match for captain Aubrey Kingsbury, who read Katie Stengel’s kick perfectly and made a diving save to protect her clean sheet. This was Kingsbury’s second penalty save of the season.

Despite the difficult start, Washington managed the match well and prevented Gotham from having many dangerous chances. The end result, 2-0, keeps them in third place in the league, and Kingsbury said the team is eager to take on leaders Kansas City and Orlando Pride.

“This team believes that we can beat anyone…. There’s no team that we’re afraid of,” she said.

Three takeaways 

• Spirit goalscorers. With Brown’s goal tonight, her first in a professional game, Washington increased the number of players who’ve scored a goal this season to 11, four of them rookies. After the game, interim head coach Adrián González praised his team’s dynamism, saying, “We don’t attack in just one way. We don’t need just one player to score.”
• Gotham’s kryptonite. Gotham’s last defeat before going on a hot streak was a 2-0 loss on April 20 to… the Washington Spirit. The Spirit have clearly figured out something about how to manage the 2023 Champs; they’re the only team this season to score more than one goal in a match against them.
• Physical match. Though the most impactful yellow card was for a rules violation, this match was a physical one, with six total cards shown and players on both sides muscling one another off the ball. Brown in part credited the Spirit’s physicality with their win: “We just had to get down and dirty a little bit better.”

Box Score

NWSL Regular Season –  Game 14

NJ/NY Gotham FC 0

Washington Spirit 2 (Brown 27′, Rodman 47′)

Lineups

NJ/NY Gotham FC (433): Ann-Katrin Berger; Jenna Nighswonger (Ella Stevens 86′), Emily Sonnett, Tierna Davidson (C), Mandy Freeman; Nealy Martin (McCall Zerboni 61′), Rose Lavelle (Taryn Torres 61′), Delaney Sheehan; Yazmeen Ryan, Crystal Dunn (Bruninha 86′), Katie Stengel

Washington Spirit (4231): Aubrey Kingsbury (C); Casey Krueger, Annaïg Butel, Tara McKeown, Gabby Carle; Croix Bethune (Heather Stainbrook 90+1′), Andi Sullivan (Paige Metayer 65′), Hal Hershfelt; Trinity Rodman (Brittany Ratcliffe 75′), Ouleye Sarr (Ashley Hatch 65′), Courtney Brown (Kate Wiesner 75′)

Misconduct Summary

NJ/NY Gotham FC: Martin 35′; Ryan 39′, 45+9′; Dunn 86′

Washington Spirit: Sarr 15′, Wiesner 77′