Despite a battle of a second half, Washington Spirit gave the North Carolina Courage their first home loss of 2024 in a 1-0 game tonight. Winning their final match of the regular season guarantees Washington will finish in second place and be eligible to host in the semifinals.

North Carolina had more possession but did not take a single shot for the entire first half. The Spirit were effective in forcing turnovers and gradually kept more of the ball themselves. Trinity Rodman seemed especially intent on a goal, taking five shots in the half and making a couple of passes that could have been assists.

Perhaps the most controversial moment of the match was the result of one of those passes, made forward in the box to Ashley Hatch. Hatch drove toward goal but either fell or was pulled down just in front of it, with a Courage defender clearly making contact. Hatch called for a penalty, but the referee opted to continue play, and there was no review.

The no-call would not keep Hatch from a scoring opportunity for long. In the 37th minute, Hal Hershfelt tackled the ball away from a Courage player, and Makenna Morris collected it and made a quick pass forward. Receiving the pass, Hatch turned and shot with her left foot from just outside the box. The ball arced over Casey Murphy and into the net to put the Spirit ahead.

Things changed in the second half, when Courage coach Sean Nahas subbed in usual-starters Ashley Sanchez and Denise O’Sullivan. From that point on, the Courage largely controlled possession and the pace of play. The Spirit defense fought hard to contain them and were able to hold on through the rest of the game to earn the win (though both teams had a goal called offside in the second half).

“Our back line was much more aggressive this match,” Aubrey Kingsbury said, noting that the positioning of North Carolina’s number nine “allowed us to really play man-for-man and check them.” Kingsbury praised her team’s defense in the box and success in winning duels and second balls.

With the season now over, both Kingsbury and Hershfelt expressed their excitement at getting to play a quarterfinal game at Audi Field next week.

“After many seasons of not making the playoffs, [I’m] really just excited to give that to the fans,” Kingsbury said.

Three takeaways 

• Ashley Hatch surging. After beginning the season in a battle for the starting striker spot that she eventually lost, it looked at times as though Hatch’s future in Washington might be in doubt. Her performance over the past couple of months has quieted all doubters. Hatch has now scored five goals in her last seven matches, with seven goals and three assists total. As Ouleye Sarr’s return from injury for playoffs remains uncertain, Spirit fans can continue to feel confident with Hatch up top.
• Danger in numbers. One of the secrets of Washington’s success has been the number of possible goal-scorers on the team, which can make them difficult to defend against. The Spirit have 10 separate players who’ve scored two or more goals and five players who’ve scored five or more — the only team in the NWSL with those numbers.
• Looking ahead to the playoffs. Winning this match put Washington in second place in the NWSL. The Spirit and Gotham each earned 56 points, but Washington had the better goal differential (23 vs. 21). This means they will play both their quarterfinal and a potential semifinal game at home. As of the time of publication, Washington’s quarterfinal opponent has not been determined, with Portland, Chicago, and Bay all still in contention for seventh place.

Box Score

NWSL Regular Season –  Game 26

North Carolina Courage 0

Washington Spirit 1 (Hatch 37′)

Lineups

North Carolina Courage(433): Casey Murphy; Malia Berkeley, Kaleigh Kurtz (C), Dani Weatherholt (Feli Rauch 76′), Ryan Williams; Riley Jackson (Denise O’Sulllivan 46′), Narumi Miura, Victoria Pickett (Ashley Sanchez 46′); Tyler Lussi (Olivia Wingate 66′), Aline Gomes, Haley Hopkins (Manaka Matsukubo 66′)

Washington Spirit (4231): Aubrey Kingsbury (C); Casey Krueger, Annaïg Butel, Tara McKeown, Gabby Carle; Courtney Brown (Brittany Ratcliffe 74′), Hal Hershfelt, Heather Stainbrook; Trinity Rodman (Kate Wiesner 74′), Makenna Morris (Leicy Santos 61′), Ashley Hatch (Lena Silano 85′)

Misconduct Summary

North Carolina Courage:  None

Washington Spirit:  None

Image courtesy of the Washington Spirit