Though missing Trinity Rodman and several other key players, Washington Spirit still had the composure and bite to win in last night’s 2-1 match against Angel City FC last night. Goals by Ashley Hatch and Makenna Morris and a stout defense helped the Spirit capture all three points and keep themselves in the fight for the NWSL Shield.

“From the beginning of the season, something that we’ve talked about that’s part of our identity is being dynamic, and I feel like we showed that today” Hatch said. “Whatever the opposing team, whatever their weaknesses are, we’re going to exploit it.”

The game was physical and a bit scrappy, although perhaps not as much as Washington’s five yellow cards would imply. Both teams employed a high press, forcing a combined 23 turnovers.

The first half began a bit rough for both sides, with what Hatch called “trial and error” as Washington attempted to perfect their press. They eventually took control of the game and took the first two shots, though the first goal was slow to come. For their part, Angel City found most of their chances by putting the ball at the feet of Alyssa Thompson.

In the 39th minute, Hatch took matters into her own hands. Muscling the ball off of ACFC’s Megan Reid high up the pitch, she dribbled into the box and took a strong left-footed shot into the goal to put Washington ahead.

Washington’s second goal was a team effort. After making a save with her hands in the 79th minute, Aubrey Kingsbury launched the ball to Rosemunde Kouassi, who ran ahead with it, then paused to create some space between herself and the two nearby Angel City defenders. She then threaded a pass through two AC defenders to Morris, making the parallel run. Morris chipped the ball over Didi Haračić for her second goal of the season.

“I kind of shocked myself with the chip,” Morris said. “I didn’t know what to do or how to celebrate.” Morris said she continued to chase the ball for a few moments after her shot, unsure it had gone in.

Angel City’s control of the match came in bursts, the first of which resulted in their goal. The team came out hot in the second half, attacking relentlessly and taking three shots in the first five minutes. They were rewarded with an equalizer in the 50th minute, when Thompson drove toward the end line, one-on-one with Paige Metayer. She crossed back into traffic, where Messiah Bright was waiting to tap the ball in.

“We knew Angel City is a strong team in terms of attacking, especially through transitions with Alyssa Thompson,” Spirit assistant coach Adrián González said. “We needed to be really compact today and try to reduce the spaces.” He thought his team had accomplished this task and defended well to keep Thompson and Claire Emslie from having too much space to operate.

According to González, the Spirit adjusted their press to re-take control of the game shortly after the goal and ultimately found their game-winner, but the home team made another big push late. With both Christen Press and Sydney Leroux now on the pitch along with Thompson, they attacked for nearly ten minutes at the end of the match. Despite some strong attempts, Angel City were unable to even the score a second time.

After the match, González evaluated the Spirit’s performance: “It was an important game for us, especially after the week we’ve had in terms of injuries and also coming from last game [a 3-0 loss to Kansas City], so really good performance, and we keep improving for sure and moving forward.”

Three takeaways 

• Kingsbury the hero. She may not have gotten the elusive clean sheet, but tonight was possibly Kingsbury’s best of the year. She made four big saves to protect her team’s score line, including a diving one to prevent Angel City’s best chance of the first half on a direct free kick. She also baited their press to tire out attackers and, perhaps most importantly, created the game-winning goal with her quick action on the counter to get the ball to Kouassi.
• My complaints about corners will continue until conversion improves. Eight corner kicks, no goals. Though there were a couple of chances this time.
• Card accumulation. Spirit player received five (arguable) yellow cards over the course of this match, but they’ll regret none as much as the stoppage time card shown to Hal Hershfelt. Booked for a tussle with Leroux on the line for a free kick, Hershfelt has now accumulated five yellow cards herself and will sit out next weekend’s match against Orlando Pride.

Box Score

NWSL Regular Season –  Game 22

Angel City FC 1 (Bright 50′)

Washington Spirit 2 (Hatch 39′, Morris 79′)

Lineups

Angel City FC (433): Didi Haračić; Sarah Gorden (C), Megan Reid, Jasmyne Spencer, M.A. Vignola; Kennedy Fuller (Rocky Rodríguez 81′), Madison Hammond (Sydney Leroux 86′), Katie Zelem (Meggie Dougherty Howard 68′); Messiah Bright (Christen Press 68′), Claire Emslie, Alyssa Thompson

Washington Spirit (433): Aubrey Kingsbury (C); Tara McKeown, Gabby Carle, Esme Morgan, Paige Metayer; Leicy Santos (Heather Stainbrook 90′), Andi Sullivan, Hal Hershfelt; Courtney Brown (Makenna Morris 69′), Rosemonde Kouassi, Ashley Hatch (Brittany Ratcliffe 76′)

Misconduct Summary

Angel City FC: none

Washington Spirit: Morgan 14′, Santos 28′, Metayer 35′, McKeown 69′, Hershfelt 90+5′