Whether it was the humid weather or the lack of on-field leader Andi Sullivan, the Washington Spirit looked sluggish and disjointed in their match against North Carolina Courage last night. They were unable to adapt to the Courage’s strategy and felled by an early goal from former Spirit Ashley Sanchez.

It was a rough match for the Spirit. They had some good chances, especially near the end but were outplayed by North Carolina, who were passing better, dominating possession, and stretching Washington too wide for them to establish control. The away side used their press to force the Spirit to play on just one side and crowded the midfield to prevent what could have been an effective switch of play.

Traded away from the Spirit unexpectedly on Draft Day, Sanchez got her revenge goal early on her first return to Audi Field. In the 20th minute, Sanchez intercepted the ball from Casey Krueger high up the pitch and took a shot from just outside the goal area, (though calling it a “banger” like the NWSL did might be a bit strong). Attempting to make a save, Aubrey Kingsbury made an uncharacteristic error, punching the ball behind her and into the goal.

Washington made several runs at the goal but weren’t able to do enough to bypass goalkeeper Casey Murphy and the well-organized Courage defense. Two of their best chances came in the 37th minute when powerful shots by Trinity Rodman and Ouleye Sarr went just off-frame moments from each other.

Towards the end of the match, the Spirit earned a free kick just outside the box that led to a series of corner kicks for them. That they were unable to convert any of these chances exposes one of the team’s consistent weaknesses. Since trading Sam Staab in the offseason, the Spirit have not been able to find a set piece kicker with the consistent power and placement to allow them to take advantage of these opportunities.

Kept out of the match with a hip injury out of precaution, Sullivan’s absence was a noticeable hole in the midfield. Interim head coach Adrián González said the impact of not having her on the field was “huge” and that the team missed Sullivan’s leadership, patience in the build-up, and organization, as well as her ability to provide the energy that can turn a poor performance around. He acknowledged, though, the danger of over-relying on one player to put in good performances.

“We need to be able to do that also with other players on the pitch,” González said.

After the match, González was more critical of his team’s performance than in after any previous game, saying that in other matches he has been able to point to more chances they nearly scored or other positives.

“We didn’t deserve a victory,” he said. “We need to do much more to win a game.”

Washington have enough points from their 10 wins so far that this loss did not move them out of third place in the league, but it did lay bare the amount of work this team still has to do if they hope to compete for a top spot.

Three takeaways 

• Surprisingly weak attack. As usual, the Spirit outshot their opponents, with 20 shots to NC’s eight. Unusually, a low proportion of those were on target (only four), as North Carolina’s control of the pitch forced a number of wild shots. In the end, they were held scoreless for the first time since their dismal season opener.
• Substitution strategy. Citing a frequent lack of energy from his side, González said some of his substitution decisions in this match were attempts to improve performance. Brittany Ratcliffe and Ashley Hatch in particular were brought on in the second half for the explosive change in energy they can sometimes bring. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough to make a change in this match.
• Krueger injury update. Casey Krueger, who was recently tapped to represent the United States at the Paris Olympics, took a hard hit in the second half and required medical attention twice, although she played a full 90. After the game, Krueger did not seem concerned about the injury, which she attributed largely to a cramp.

Box Score

NWSL Regular Season – Game 15

Washington Spirit 0

North Carolina Courage 1 (Sanchez 20′)

Lineups

Washington Spirit (4231): Aubrey Kingsbury (C); Casey Krueger, Annaïg Butel, Tara McKeown, Gabby Carle (Makenna Morris 63′); Croix Bethune (Brittany Ratcliffe 74′), Hal Hershfelt, Paige Metayer (Heather Stainbrook 63′); Trinity Rodman, Ouleye Sarr (Ashley Hatch 74′), Courtney Brown (Kate Wiesner 46′)

North Carolina Courage (4231): Casey Murphy; Malia Berkely, Kaleigh Kurtz, Ryan Williams, Feli Rauch; Denise O’Sullivan (C), Ashley Sanchez (Dani Weatherholt 89′), Narumi Miura (Riley Jackson 46′); Brianna Pinto (Victoria Pickett 64′) Bianca St. Georges (Haley Hopkins 45′), Tyler Lussi (Meredith Speck 64′)

Misconduct Summary

Washington Spirit: Hershfelt 80′

North Carolina Courage: Speck 75′