Goals by rookies Heather Stainbrook and Makenna Morris pushed Washington Spirit to a 2-0 win over Chicago Red Stars tonight. Still in the fight for two playoff matches at home, Washington Spirit extended their winning streak at Audi Field to five games.

Especially in the first half, the Spirit were able to control the match well, although they struggled with passes in the final third. The Red Stars played as expected, largely staying low and trying to attack on the counter. In response to Chicago’s transitional threat, the Spirit were a bit more conservative than usual in possession and focused on staying organized out of it, according to Casey Krueger.

Washington’s first goal came on a corner kick in the 31st minute. Chicago goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher punched the initial pass away, but Gabby Carle collected the second ball, passing to Tara McKeown on the right side. Her cross was deflected to the feet of Stainbrook, who easily put it away. The goal is Stainbrook’s first in the NWSL and meant that all six Spirit rookies have now scored this season.

“It’s something I’ll never forget, to be honest. I had chills,” Morris said about scoring her first professional goal, which she also called “perfect.”

Chicago came into the second half on a stronger footing. After taking only three shots in the first half, they made six in the second and spent much of the first 15 minutes on the attack. Washington were eventually able to adjust their shape to regain control, though.

Both teams went down to 10 players in the 70th minute after Kouassi and Ludmila got into a shoving match. The referee initially only gave Ludmila a yellow, but a VAR check confirmed the offense merited an ejection. Spirit players after the match indicated that the fight began when Ludmila pulled Kouassi’s hair. Kouassi will miss the Spirit’s final match of the regular season and could be assessed for a longer suspension.

Washington was finally able to double their lead in the 83rd minute, when Rodman intercepted the ball and played a long pass forward into the box. Putting on a burst of speed Hatch beat Naeher to the ball and quickly passed it to the far post. Intent on getting the ball across the goal line, Makenna Morris barreled all the way through to the net herself.

There will be no NWSL games played during next week’s international window. Washington will play their final match of the regular season on November 3 against North Carolina Courage.

Three takeaways 

• Playoff implications. Tonight’s win keeps the Spirit in second place, but they haven’t locked down a home semifinal match just yet. In addition to needing to, you know, win a quarterfinal match, they’ll need to stay ahead of NJ/NY Gotham FC and KC Current through the final match of the season to stay in second. They’re currently staying ahead of Gotham on goal differential alone, so expect things to be tight until the very end.
• Corner conversion. If you follow these recaps, you’ll know failure to convert on corner kicks has been a common complaint about Washington’s performance. In this match, they earned 11 corners… and actually scored on one! Congratulations to the Spirit on the improvement.
• Talking Stainbrook. In addition to scoring her first goal tonight, Stainbrook was in a slightly different role than the more defensive midfield position she’s played for much of this season. Playing at the 10 was very comfortable, Stainbrook said, since she played that position in college and enjoyed the opportunity to get more involved in the attack. An undrafted rookie, Stainbrook has come a long way in a short time, showing a lot of improvement since the Spirit’s match against Orlando two weeks ago when she struggled a bit with her first start.

Box Score

NWSL Regular Season –  Game 25

Washington Spirit 2 (Stainbrook 31′, Morris 83′)

Chicago Red Stars 0

Lineups

Washington Spirit (433): Aubrey Kingsbury (C); Casey Krueger (Kate Wiesner 73′), Tara McKeown, Gabby Carle, Esme Morgan (Annaïg Butel 87′); Courtney Brown (Trinity Rodman 56′), Hal Hershfelt, Heather Stainbrook; Makenna Morris (Brittany Ratcliffe 87′), Rosemunde Kouassi, Ashley Hatch (Lena Silano 87′)

Chicago Red Stars (4231): Alyssa Naeher (C); Hannah Anderson, Cari Roccaro, Natalia Kuikka (Camryn Biegalski 46′), Taylor Malham; Bea Franklin, Julia Grosso, Rosella Ayane (Shea Groom 46′); Mallory Swanson (Chardonnay Curran 60′), Jameese Joseph (Nadia Gomes 89′), Ludmila

Misconduct Summary

Washington Spirit:  Hershfelt 47′, Kouassi (R) 70′, Stainbrook 94′

Chicago Red Stars:  Ludmila (R) 72′