Washington Spirit became just the second NWSL to start their season with five straight away wins when they defeated Seattle Reign FC 2-1 last night. After weeks of poor defensive performances, this game was a marked improvement for the Spirit, who took the lead in the first half with goals by Croix Bethune and Ashley Hatch and controlled the second half to see out a win.

“We’ve been working on our press and being a little bit more disciplined, and making it predictable for the people behind us so that we can win the ball higher up the pitch,” Hatch said. “And I thought we did a really good job of communicating and everyone being on the same page today, and it was really successful for us.”

With Rose Kouassi in the driver’s seat, the Spirit dominated the beginning of the match and had a seeming goal by Gift Monday called offside in the sixth minute. Not letting up, they got the ball to Casey Krueger on the left side in the 10th minute. Krueger arced the ball centrally. Her shot was too high for Hatch’s head, but Bethune was waiting at the far post to knock the ball in.

The Reign picked up a little steam after Washington’s goal and went on an attacking run, finally scoring in the 17th minute. As has become all too common, the goal was the result of some poor defending in the box from the Spirit, as they failed to track Shae Holmes coming into range to score or to clear the ball despite several chances.

The Spirit pulled ahead again in the 35th minute. A dribble and incisive pass by Tara McKeown got the play started. Narumi Miura received the ball and played another tight pass to Monday, who brought the ball into the box and made a slanting pass toward the goal. It might have served as a shot of its own, but Hatch was there to redirect it past Claudia Dickey, tapping the ball in for her sixth goal of the season.

“I I thought it was a great build-up from back to front, and Monday gave me a great ball, so I just had to be where I was supposed to be and just got a foot on it. It was a really good team goal, so I’m really happy,” Hatch said.

In the second half, the Reign adjusted their press, pushing high into the Spirit’s half in search of an equalizer. They also subbed in some dangerous attackers, like Lynn Biyendolo and Jess Fishlock, who both had chances saved or blocked shortly after coming on. As a result, Washington weren’t able to create many chances of their own but remained organized defensively and held Seattle to five shots in the half, only one on target.

In the 70th minute, the Spirit had a chance of their own to score when a left-footed cross by Monday found Hatch right in front of the goal. Hatch’s header went too high, though, and the score held at 2-1.

“I feel like this is the best game we’ve had all season,” Bethune said. “This is a win that we needed coming off of, what? A couple losses and a tie? So to come to Seattle and win, it’s pretty big for us.”

The Spirit will have plenty of time to celebrate and prepare for their next challenge. Their next match is in Washington, DC, on Sunday, June 8 after a league break for international friendlies.

Three takeaways 

• Kouassi’s dominance continues. For the first time since April, Rose Kouassi didn’t get a goal or assist in this match, but her presence was felt on both sides of the pitch. As always, she created multiple chances with her strong one-on-one attack, but she also showed an improved defensive performance, using her speed to stop runaway Reign attacks.
• Midfield cohesion. The midfield unit also looked better than it has most of the season. Largely freed from having to drop into the back line, Rebeca Bernal took control of the center of the pitch, using her positioning to keep the ball under Spirit control. She made four interceptions and eight recoveries during the game. This took some of the defensive pressure off Miura, who was able to get more involved in the attack, alongside the free-roaming Bethune, who made several of her characteristic passes to create scoring chances. Bethune explained that much of their success came from a plan tailored to Seattle’s lineup: “We wanted to emphasize Rumi and I on their 6’s. Since they didn’t have a 10, that kind of left them with less options, and they’d either force the ball inside… to Rebe or hit it long to our centerbacks or Aubrey.”
• Checking in on defense. There’s still room for improvement in defending, as Holmes’s goal makes clear. Under pressure, the Spirit often leave players open in the goal area and seek to control the ball instead of clearing it, resulting in dangerous situations for them. Still, their emphasis on their press and positioning to limit those high-pressure situations was effective last night.

Box Score

NWSL Regular Season –  Game 10

Seattle Reign 1 (Holmes 17′)

Washington Spirit 2 (Bethune 11′, Hatch 35′)

Lineups

Seattle Reign FC (3421): Claudia Dickey; Lauren Barnes, Phoebe McClernon, Jordyn Bugg, Madison Curry, Shae Holmes (Nérilia Mondesir 74′); Angharad James-Turner (So-Yun Ji 74′), Sam Meza; Maddie Dahlien (Sally Menti 88′), Jordyn Huitema (Lynn Biyendolo 61′), Emeri Adames (Jess Fishlock 61′)

Washington Spirit (4231): Aubrey Kingsbury (C); Casey Krueger (Kiley Dulaney 81′), Tara McKeown, Gabby Carle, Esme Morgan (Kysha Sylla 66′); Rebeca Bernal, Narumi Miura, Croix Bethune (Hal Hershfelt 66′); Rosemonde Kouassi (Brittany Ratcliffe 88′), Gift Monday (Makenna Morris 81′), Ashley Hatch

Misconduct Summary

Seattle Reign FC:  Holmes 55′

Washington Spirit:  Miura 51′

Lead image, courtesy of the Washington Spirit, shows Croix Bethune playing in a 2024 match against Gotham FC.