It was a match-up between the second- and third-ranked NWSL teams, for which Washington Spirit, with new players joining in the summer trade window and starters coming back from the Olympics as recently as this week, had little time to prepare as a group. Despite this, they pulled together as a group to beat Kansas City Current 4-1 and move into second place spot.

The Spirit looked organized and in control for the majority of the match and ended with goal contributions from six different players. The scoring started early. Receiving the ball from Leicy Santos in the Spirit’s half in the 9th minute of the match, Paige Metayer drove it all the way to KC’s goal area, cut inside of a defender and shot the ball into the near corner of the goal.

“I like to run,” Metayer said. “I love it when there’s space and green grass in front of me. I like to take it.

Just five minutes later, Croix Bethune made an interception in midfield, then played a clever slanting pass into the box to Ouleye Sarr. Sarr then slid the ball back in the opposite direction past two Current players to double Washington’s lead. With her tenth assist of the season, Bethune tied Tobin Heath’s record for most assists in a single season.

The Current sought to start the second half on the attack, but they couldn’t keep Washington’s star player contained for long. Fed the ball by Metayer in the box, Rodman moved it to her left foot and made a hard strike into the far corner of the net.

Kansas City kept Washington under pressure throughout the match, especially in the midfield, where they were able to force a number of turnovers. But they rarely looked truly dangerous, and when they did Aubrey Kingsbury and the Spirit center backs (plus Rodman in her defensive posture) were largely there to keep the game under control. Kansas City’s only goal came, naturally, from Temwa Chawinga, who received a long pass from the midfield and was finally able to outrace Spirit defenders to keep her team from going scoreless. The goal was her 13th of the season, putting her in uncontested lead of the Golden Boot race.

Refusing to let the Current back into the match, Washington put things more or less to bed in the 73rd minute. After Kansas City headed away a Spirit free kick, Gabby Carle collected the rebound and passed it back to Santos in the middle of the box. Santos settled the ball and immediately slotted it into the goal near the far post.

The fans’ chants of “We want five” would ultimately go unrewarded, but the Spirit continued to attack for the remainder of the match. In past games, they’ve sometimes looked toothless after making substitutions, but with the new additions and as existing players develop, this team has depth that could easily see them competing for the Shield in this last stretch.

Three takeaways 

• The Paige Metayer right back experiment is working. In her second start at right back, the (former?) midfielder put up one goal, one assist, and numerous defensive actions to help ensure the win. Long known for her ability to run for a long time, Metayer showed today she can also be fast, putting on bursts of speed to put herself in a scoring position and take the ball away from Current stars like Chawinga. Metayer was rightfully named player of the match by both the Spirit Squadron and D.C. Scores, and we’ll be watching her development in this position closely.
• Lessons learned from last week. Two issues that led to Washington’s loss to Arsenal last week – sloppy defense in the box and poor finishing – were nowhere to be seen today. The turnaround may be partly explained by coach Jonatan Giráldez’s post-match statement that his team has been focused on preparing for this match throughout the summer window.
• Even more to come from Santos? Leicy Santos made her NWSL debut today, starting the match and scoring her first league goal, as well as linking up with Metayer to start the latter’s goal run. It was an exciting match from the Columbian, but if Giráldez is to be believed, we ain’t seen nothing yet. “She did a good job, but I know her: she can play much better,” he said after the match, later adding: “She’s going to be very, very important for us.”

Box Score

NWSL Regular Season –  Game 17

Washington Spirit 4 (Metayer 9′, Sarr 14′, Rodman 51′, Santos 73′)

Kansas City Current 1 (Chawinga 64′)

Lineups

Washington Spirit (433): Aubrey Kingsbury (C); Casey Krueger (Gabby Carle 64′), Annaïg Butel, Tara McKeown, Paige Metayer; Leicy Santos (Brittany Ratcliffe 79′), Andi Sullivan, Hal Hershfelt (Heather Stainbrook 64′); Trinity Rodman (Ashley Hatch 79′), Croix Bethune (Rosemunde Kouassi 71′), Ouleye Sarr

Kansas City Current (433): AD Franch; Ellie Wheeler, Alana Cook, Stine Ballisager Pedersen, Hailie Mace; Lo LaBonta (C), Claire Hutton (Jereko 65′), Vanessa DiBernardo (Nichelle Prince 65′); Debinha (Bayley Feist 79′), Temwa Chawinga, Michelle Cooper (Kristen Hamilton 79′)

Misconduct Summary

Washington Spirit: Ratcliffe 90+6′

Kansas City Current: DiBernardo 49′, Cook 72′, LaBonta 84′

Image courtesy of Washington Spirit