Allie Flanagan had two goals in her debut match as DC Power FC defeated Lexington FC 2-1 at Audi Field on Friday night. The win was their second of the season and it was their first home win in club history.

Lineups

DC Power FC: 1-Morgan Aquino (33-Adelaide Gay 46′) ; 24-Amber DiOrio (8-Myra Konte 85′), 29-Madison Wolfbauer, 12-Claire Constant (c), 3-Susanna Friedrichs; 45-Maleeya Martin (41-Allie Flanagan 46′), 6-Jennifer Cudjoe (46-Riley Cross 85′), 9-Katie Duong, 2-Anna Bagley; 7-Mariah Lee, 5-Jorian Baucom (30-Loza Abera 68′)
Unused Subs: 20-Madison Murnin, 19-Yuuka Kurosaki, 30-Loza Abera

Lexington SC: 1-Sarah Cox; 24-Courtney Jones (10-Kim Mendez 65′), 5-Maddy Perez, 22-Sydney Shepherd, 7-Nayeong Shin (20-Autumn Weeks 77′); 25-Shea Moyer (c), 42-Claire Winter (19-Natalie Turner-Wyatt 86′), 16-Julie Mackin, 29-Amanda Allen (2-Kailey Utley 65′); 15-Madi Parsons, 12-Marykate McGuire (17-Cori Sullivan 86′)
Unused Subs: 21-Bridgette Skiba, 23-JJ Aalbuea

DC Power started off on the front foot, controlling possession for much of the early minutes of the match. Mariah Lee had a toe poke at goal a few minutes in, but didn’t get enough on the shot to get it past Lexington’s Sarah Cox. In the 18th minute, DC Power went on the break with Jorian Baucom starting the run from their own half. She fed the ball along the way to Maleeya Martin, who dribbled for about 20 yards before taking a shot from just outside the box. However, the shot was straight at the keeper and gathered for the save.

Seven minutes later, Lexington had their first chance of the match, and it was inches away from being 1-0. After a DC Power turnover deep in their own half, the ball landed on the feet of Madi Parsons. As she ran to try and get on the ball, DC Power goalkeeper Morgan Aquino and Parson collided feet and the ball squibbed towards goal. The spin of the deflection caused the ball to hit just inches in front of the goal line and skid away, but it surely caused DC Power’s heart rate to elevate rapidly. Aquino was shaken up on the play, but continued.

In the 31st minute, DC Power had another chance that was created by a simple cross from Katie Duong, who was effective on the night with her crosses and corners. Claire Constant was able to deflect it, but the ball sailed wide. Two minutes later, DC almost had an Olimpico, but it was deflected out for another corner kick. On that ensuing corner, the ball fell in the box and despite trying to get on the ball, it was sent out of harm’s way. The ball was once again crossed back into the box by Duong, but the header by Lee went wide.

Lexington really only had one major scoring chance in the first half, but that chance in the 39th minute was created by a DC Power turnover deep in their defensive half. This time, Lexington was able to strike. Off a free kick, the ball was cleared before being once again crossed into the box by Madi Parsons. McGuire was able to get a header on it that floated over Aquino and into the top corner of the net. On the edge of halftime, DC Power had another chance that could have been viewed by some as a penalty, as it appeared that Jorian Baucom was brought down inside the penalty area. However, the referee did not make any indication of a foul and the match went to halftime with Lexington up 1-0.

DC Power had four players made their professional debut in this match, and the second half started with two of them entering the match. Adelaide Gay subbed on for Morgan Aquino, who head coach Fred Brillant later said was experiencing concussion symptoms from the collision she took in the first half. Allie Flanagan entered the match as well, and it didn’t take long for her to make an impact. Lexington’s Shea Moyer fired a shot from long distance in the 50th minute that rattled off the crossbar for the first real chance of the second half.

DC Power came right back down and had a chance of their own that went wide. However, a minute and a half later, they were able to equalize. On the break, Jennifer Cudjoe fed Allie Flanagan in space. With some of her teammates charging the goal to create a pool of space behind them, Flanagan dribbled down the left side before cutting in and unleashing a shot from outside the box. That shot glanced off the hands of Sarah Cox into the back of the net to make it 1-1. Flanagan said after the match that she “tried not to overthink it” when she took the shot in space, and it proved to be successful.

DC Power really were dangerous with long crosses and on counters, and several chances were created from the foot of Katie Duong. Also, the speed of DC Power allowed them to get behind Lexington’s attackers to force their goalie to remain active. In the 58th minute, there was a great opportunity from DC with a give-and-go between Jorian Baucom and Anna Bagley. However, despite flying past the defense, Baucom had too heavy of a touch and the ball rolled over the endline for a goal kick before she was able to serve it towards the net.

Katie Duong was able to get more corners and almost had an Olimpico on three separate occasions. DC Power were very effective at creating scoring chances via the corner and the cross. In the 85th minute, Riley Cross and Myra Konte both entered the match, also making their professional debut. The influx of young talent generated more energy, and the crowd at Audi Field helped.

Finally, their work on corner kicks provided to be the decider. In the 90th minute, just seconds before stoppage time, DC Power earned a corner kick. Katie Duong was able to serve it into the middle of the box, where Allie Flanagan had a free header and smashed it home for her second goal of the match. The goal gave DC the late 2-1 lead. Despite Lexington having one final chance, DC was able to hold the ball well and defend to secure the victory.

With the victory, DC Power moves to 2W-4L-4D on the season and jump to 5th in the USL Super League standings. Fred Brillant said after the match that he was really happy with the team in fighting for the goal and will take the weekend “to relax and enjoy it” before returning to training on Monday to prepare for next Sunday’s home match against Carolina Ascent.