Washington Spirit came back from behind to defeat Bay FC 2-1 in a near sold-out match at Audi Field yesterday afternoon. After a Bay goal in the 82nd minute, Washington center back Tara McKeown equalized, and an extra time stoppage goal guaranteed the Spirit would advance to the NWSL semifinals.

It was a close match, in which Bay often seemed to have the better of the higher-ranked Spirit. Head coach Jonatan Giráldez said his team’s game plan was impacted by Bay’s own, particularly their decision not to press.

“We didn’t expect today they [would be] defending with a mid- to low-block,” Giráldez said. “They were not jumping any time to [center backs] Esme and Tara.”

This caused difficulty for the Spirit in moving the ball and occupying the spaces they prefer, often forcing them to boot the ball far up the field, bypassing the midfield. Throughout the match, Washington adjusted their shape to compensate, moving the ball on the wings more and eventually playing with two strikers to get more players in the box.

The Spirit’s own defense was largely successful in containing Bay FC, keeping them to only three shots in the second half. Unfortunately, smart attackers like Bay’s only need one chance to score. This was the case with Assisat Oshoala’s 82nd minute goal. The team was able to quickly flood the Spirit’s goal area with attacker’s, overwhelming the defense, who failed to prevent or deflect Penelope Hocking’s pass to Oshoala directly in front of the goal.

The Spirit responded by going right back on the attack. In the 86th minute, after a deflected cross, center back Tara McKeown took matters into her own hands. Intercepting a pass out of the box to Oshoala, McKeown dribbled past Bay players to the top of the box and made a low shot through traffic into the corner of the goal to equalize.

After the game, McKeown explained that she had missed her sister’s wedding on Saturday to play in the match. “When we were down a goal, I knew that our season wasn’t over and that I didn’t miss my sister’s wedding for nothing,” she said, later adding, “It felt amazing to score that goal.”

Washington continued to attack as regular time waned. The final play was a shot by Hal Hershfelt that hit the crossbar. That deflection kept the score at 1-1 at the end of regular time and extended the match to 120 minutes.

The Spirit took their momentum into stoppage time, but it still took a bit of luck to score the winning goal. Trinity Rodman had been making high crosses into the box all match, seeking the head of one of her teammates in front of goal. Bay was successful in clearing most of these, but they remained enough of a danger to put the defenders under pressure. In the sixth minute of extra time, Caprice Dydasco made a mistake, pushing the ball into her own goal rather than away from it and putting Washington on top for the first time in the match.

After the match, Giráldez praised his team’s performance, especially their reaction after going down a goal and the number of shots they took compared with Bay, concluding that Washington’s performance was better overall. He also said the reaction of the fans — 19,215 in attendance — after Bay’s goal helped his team to recover.

“I want to say thank you today to all of [the fans] because, I think always but especially today, because we need them. They were the player number 12 for sure,” Giráldez said. “We are going to need them for the next week. We have to keep pushing. We have to keep going. We have no easy games.”

The Spirit will face NJ/NY Gotham FC at home this Saturday in the semifinals.

Three takeaways 

• McKeown’s match. In her second season as a center back after starting her career as a striker, Tara McKeown was the star of yesterday’s game. In addition to the goal, McKeown made 6 tackles, 2 interceptions, and 1 block. She also led the team in passes and carries. Giráldez said she deserved both the victory and her goal: “I am very happy because it was not an easy week for her, and she was performing very well during the whole season. She’s doing an amazing job.”
• Rotation. Today’s match also validated Giráldez’s strategy of regularly rotating his starting lineup and substitutes. While an increasingly tired Bay relied on their starters well into extra time, the Spirit were able to adjust their shape and provide bursts of energy with substitutions of players who knew they were trusted to perform.
• The playoff picture. In a rarity, all four of the top-ranked NWSL won their matches this weekend and advance to the semifinals. Number two Washington will play third-ranked Gotham, who defeated Portland 2-1, while the shield-winning Orlando Pride will face Kansas City Current on Sunday.

Box Score

NWSL Playoffs – Quarterfinals

Washington Spirit 2 (McKeown 86′, Dydasco 96′ (OG))

Bay FC 1 (Oshoala 82′)

Lineups

Washington Spirit (4141): Aubrey Kingsbury (C); Gabby Carle, Esme Morgan, Tara McKeown, Casey Krueger (Paige Metayer 85′); Hal Hershfelt, Heather Stainbrook (Kate Wiesner 79′), Courtney Brown (Leicy Santos 46′); Makenna Morris (Lena Silano 85′), Trinity Rodman, Ashley Hatch (Brittany Ratcliffe 119′)

Bay FC (4231): Katelyn Rowland; Caprice Dydasco, Abby Dahlkemper, Emily Menges (C) (Madeline Moreau 105′), Alyssa Malonson; Kiara Pickett, Dorian Bailey (Deyna Castellanos 101′), Tess Boade; Rachel Hill (Penelope Hocking 73′), Racheal Kundananji, Assisat Oshoala

Misconduct Summary

Washington Spirit:  Hershfelt 46′

Bay FC:  Oshoala 52′, Malonson 59′, Pickett 99′