With 11 players unavailable and headed into the home of the undefeated Orlando Pride, Washington Spirit’s odds of victory seemed very low before this match began. Ninety-odd minutes later, a goal from first-time starter Gift Monday and defensive solidity saw the Spirit taking home all three points in a 1-0 victory.

Orlando had much of the possession and beat Washington on chances with 20 shots to the Spirit’s nine, but the win wasn’t entirely against the run of play. The Spirit’s successful use of a high press kept the Pride on their toes, while their defense prevented too many quality chances. Especially effective were Aubrey Kingsbury’s leaping saves and Tara McKeown’s efforts to box out Barbra Banda.

“We knew it was going to be a fight,” Aubrey Kingsbury said, calling “fight the team’s word of the day. “We know they’re physical, so we came; we matched that. It wasn’t the best soccer, but I think when you have these games against the top teams in the league, like, it’s going to take a little bit more than just quality soccer. You gotta bring some energy, bring some fight, and… and have a little luck.”

The high press ultimately brought the Spirit their goal. As the Pride passed back to goalkeeper Anna Moorhouse to restart their attack in the 63rd minute, Monday pursued. With the ball at her feet, Moorhouse seemed change her mind about passing and instead moved the ball directly into Monday’s path. Monday pounced, hitting the ball back past Moorhouse with her first touch and knocking it into the goal with her second.

Washington began the game in a compact, defensive shape, and had to weather an onslaught of attacks from Orlando for much of the first half. They didn’t get a good chance until the 31st minute, when a shot by Ashley Hatch went just high of the goal. Later in that half, Monday had another scoring opportunity when she entered the Pride’s goal area with only Moorhouse in front of her and the centerbacks slow to close. She wasn’t able to shoot or pass quickly enough to capitalize, closing out the half at a scoreless draw.

The Pride nearly equalized on a corner kick, after Kingsbury’s block bounced off of Gabby Carle for what appeared to be an own goal. A VAR review revealed that Kyle Nadaner had fouled Kingsbury as the ball was incoming, invalidating the initial goal call.

The Spirit continued to show skill at adapting their tactics and formation throughout the match, both to correct problems and to try out different avenues of attack. When an experiment with McKeown on the left side wasn’t working, they quickly swapped to put her on her usual right. Late in the match, defending their one-goal lead against a furious Orlando, the Spirit compressed into a five-back shape.

The game was not without its downsides for the Spirit. Early in the second half, Leicy Santos took a hard shot at goal that struck Hatch in the head. Though she returned to play for a bit, Hatch was shortly thereafter subbed off under concussion protocols. Spirit coach Jonatan Giráldez confirmed it was a concussion after the match but was unable to provide much information on her condition or its severity. Losing their leading goal-scorer to a concussion would be hard blow for this already injured squad.

Up next: the Spirit return home for a game against NJ/NY Gotham FC on Saturday, April 26.

Three takeaways 

• Brick Wall Kingsbury. If anyone came into this game ready to do whatever it took to win, it was Aubrey Kingsbury. In her 150th regular season appearance, Kingsbury exerted extraordinary control over her goal area, making six saves, 16 recoveries, and three high claims. The end result: her 40th regular season clean sheet.
• Road mentality. One of Giráldez’s goals for this year was to improve his team’s performance on the road, where he felt they often dropped points last year. He gave more specifics about those efforts this week, saying it begins at the start of the week, not just with a game plan but with getting his players’ mentality ready. Giráldez said he tries to give positive feedback throughout the week to give players the confidence that they won’t be able to draw from an away crowd. His efforts have paid off so far: the Spirit are three for three on away wins.
• Toppling a giant. The Pride were ranked first in the NWSL before this loss, with four straight wins to start their season. Not only was this Orlando’s first loss of the season, it was their first loss at home since August, 25, 2023, ending a 22-match home win streak. After tonight’s games, the Spirit and Pride are tied for second place with 12 points each. Kansas City Current are now the team to beat.

Box Score

NWSL Regular Season –  Game 5

Orlando Pride 0

Washington Spirit 1 (Gift Monday 64′)

Lineups

Orlando Pride (442): Anna Moorhouse; Kerry Abello, Kylie Nadaner, Oihane (Cori Dyke 46′), Emily Sams; Haley McCutcheon (Ally Lemos 69′), Morgan Gautrat (Carson Pickett 79′), Angelina (Grace Chanda 85′); Ally Watt (Prisca Chilufya 69′), Barbra Banda, Marta (C)

Washington Spirit (4231): Aubrey Kingsbury (C); Rebeca Bernal, Tara McKeown, Gabby Carle, Esme Morgan; Narumi Miura, Heather Stainbrook (Kysha Sylla 81′), Ashley Hatch (Rosemunde Kouassi 60′); Makenna Morris, Courtney Brown (Leicy Santos 46′), Gift Monday (Chloe Ricketts 81′)

Misconduct Summary

Orlando Pride:  Lemos 90+4′

Washington Spirit:  Giráldez 90+6′

Lead image courtesy of the Washington Spirit