Trinity Rodman became emotional after scoring a stoppage time goal to put Washington Spirit ahead of Portland Thorns in their match this afternoon. After four months off the pitch and away from her team to rehab a long-term back injury, her appearance in the 75th minute and goal both drew a huge reaction from the crowd of 16,007 at Audi Field and boosted the Spirit to a 2-1 victory to start the second half of their season.

“I mean, I just, like… I’ve been crying,” Rodman said. “Yeah, a lot of emotions for me. I have such an amazing team, and the way that they came around me during that moment was amazing. The work that they put in while I was gone, like, I have so much respect and trust in them, and they trust me.”

The Spirit had some mixed performances without Rodman in the spring, but there was no sign of that in their first half today. Both Washington and Portland were pressing aggressively, but the Spirit dominated the half, prompting Aubrey Kingsbury to call it “one of the best halves we’ve played of soccer this year.” With well-placed passes and patience on the ball, they took 11 shots to Portland’s four and were able to keep the Thorns in their own half for much of the time.

The Spirit were especially effective in controlling and moving the ball on the right side, through a combination of Esme Morgan, Gabby Carle, and Rosemonde Kouassi. They had a good chance early on when Carle moved the ball upfield in the 13th minute and bounced it ahead for Kouassi. Kouassi cleverly played it around Portland’s Isa Obaze and crossed to Gift Monday, who just missed the chance.

She wouldn’t let that opportunity pass again. Four minutes later, Carle again played a ball forward to Kouassi, who muscled Obaze out of the way and put another flat pass in front of the goal. This time, Monday was able to outstrip her coverage and tap the ball into the goal for Washington’s first.

Portland’s only goal, arriving in first half stoppage time, felt contrary to the run of play, though the Spirit had slowed down a bit as the half went on. Taking advantage of a failure by defenders to close her down, Olivia Moultrie found space to take a shot from just outside the penalty box. Kingsbury dove to try to make the save but was unable to reach the ball.

Washington were less in control of the second half, lacking some of their previous urgency, and play evened out as both teams sought a go-ahead goal. It wouldn’t come until stoppage time, when Rodman finally scored.

“We love the drama,” Hal Hershfelt joked about her team’s penchant for last-minute game-winners.

To start this one, Courtney Brown won possession along the left side and crossed the ball into the center of the penalty area. Croix Bethune brought it down behind herself with a flick. Running in, Rodman slammed the ball home into the far corner of the goal.

“We had been working on the kind of float-back-post cross in training all week,” Rodman said about her positioning as the ball approached. “We didn’t have the runners today, for the most part, and we talked about that at half time, so I guess I was kind of just waiting to see. But as soon as it was going towards Croix, I knew she was going to have some type of cheeky touch, and I was not going to miss it. I mean, I was going to hit it through the net before anything.”

After his first match as head coach, Adrián González was proud of his team’s performance, even if he wished they’d had more and earlier goals to show for it. He said his team was successful in “provoking what we wanted, especially in possession,” as well as in executing their plan of “being aggressive, bringing that energy also, that connection with the fans, but at the same time, being able to have that patience.”

The win puts Washington Spirit in third place in the NWSL standings, tied with Orlando Pride at 26 points though still 10 behind Kansas City Current. Their next game is Saturday, August 9, against NJ/NY Gotham FC.

Three takeaways 

• Formations. The Spirit have employed a number of different formations this year and today returned to a back three, perhaps more successfully than in previous attempts. Rebeca Bernal, Tara McKeown, and Esme Morgan played as center backs, while Carle and Kate Wiesner pushed high up on the wings. Meanwhile, Monday and Kouassi floated in the front but generally played more inside than they usually do to link up with the wingers and Bethune. The formation worked well in allowing each of the defenders opportunities to go forward to join the attack, trusting that her teammates would cover the space defensively. (We note that this discussion may not be to the tastes of coach Adrián “I don’t believe in formations” González.)
• Bethune finding her footing. Last year’s Rookie and Midfielder of the Year Croix Bethune is still making her way back to form. She took a big step forward this afternoon: creating chances, showing off her ball handling skills, smashing one off the woodwork, and finally making her first assist of the season. “She’s absolutely getting back to her best,” Morgan said, “She’s excellent.”
• Kingsbury sets a record. It was an important night for Aubrey Kingsbury as well. Washington’s captain and goalkeeper set a new record for most regular season minutes in Spirit history (13,037 minutes), surpassing Tori Huster. Kingsbury said she was unaware she was on track to break the record but coincidentally wore Huster’s jersey to the stadium in honor of “Throwback Day.” “Tori Huster is the OG, and no one will ever reach her,” Kingsbury said, before reflecting on her own achievement and the feeling of “home” she’s found in Washington.

Box Score

NWSL Regular Season –  Game 14

Washington Spirit 2 (Monday 17′, Rodman 90+2′)
Portland Thorns FC 1 (Moultrie 45+3′)

Lineups

Washington Spirit (532): Aubrey Kingsbury (C); Kate Wiesner (Courtney Brown 62′), Tara McKeown, Gabby Carle (Makenna Morris 87′), Esme Morgan, Rebeca Bernal; Narumi Miura (Heather Stainbrook 87′), Hal Hershfelt, Croix Bethune; Rosemonde Kouassi (Trinity Rodman 75′), Gift Monday

Portland Thorns FC (4231): Mackenzie Arnold; Isa Obaze (Daiane Limeria Santos Silva (90+7′), Sam Hiatt, Reyna Reyes, Kaitlyn Torpey (Mallie Mackenie 72′); Sam Coffey (C), Hina Sugita, Jessie Fleming (Alexa Spaanstra 72′), Olivia Moultrie; Mimi Alidou (Payton Linnehan 26′), Reilyn Turner (Pietra Tordin 63′)

Misconduct Summary

Washington Spirit:  Bethune 11′, Morgan 42′
Portland Thorns FC:  Torpey 19′, bench 90+2′

Lead image courtesy of the Washington Spirit