Between two high-pressing, high-scoring teams like Washington Spirit and NJ/NY Gotham FC, a battle is to be expected. A slow-paced battle ending in a scoreless draw, like Saturday afternoon’s competition, was not.

The Spirit had a numbers advantage from the 30th minute onward, when Gotham’s Geyse was shown a red card for a foul on Gabby Carle. However, they were not able to break down the home team’s resulting low block to score and will bring just one point back down I-95.

When the game began, things were looking up for the Spirit. They were coming off a win at home and had perhaps their healthiest roster of the season, allowing them to repeat a Starting XI for the first time this year. Gotham had the first several attacks, but the Spirit defended well and eventually found their way into the match. This culminated in a pair of chances for Rosemonde Kouassi, around the 25th minute, one of which was saved and one which hit the post.

Everything shifted when Geyse stepped on the back of Carle’s ankle moments later. Initially, the contact was not called, but she was ejected from the game after a VAR review, and both teams had to shift their playing styles.

Aubrey Kingsbury summed up the impact on Washington’s game: “I think our best chances really came off of our high press. Pressing [goalie Ann-Katrin] Berger, she gave us a couple of really good opportunities. And then of course when they’re down a player, they weren’t really building out of the back anymore, so uh, yeah, just had to kind of change our tactics” Kingsbury credited Gotham’s defending in a low block, which she implied the Spirit had little practice playing against.

At halftime, Adrián González subbed on Sofia Cantore for Kouassi to try to get a “different profile” in Washington’s attack. They were also able to bring in Trinity Rodman for just over 30 minutes, but neither was able to find a goal to put the Spirit ahead. Towards the end of the match, they also tried changing their structure, moving Rebeca Bernal up to the midfield and having Croix Bethune and Makenna Morris play as dual 10s. This belated shift was not very successful, as Gotham had the midfield fairly well-covered.

The best chance of the second half came near the end of regulation time when Berger was downed in the box by a collision with one of her own defenders. Heather Stainbrook recovered the ball and took a quick shot, but it was blocked by a Gotham defender. After that, Gotham was able to take control for a few chances, perhaps less tired after a half of cautious defending. Kingsbury made a pair of saves to end the match in a draw.

“I think we honestly need to be a little more creative. I feel like sometimes we were just lobbing balls into the box,” Hal Hershfelt said of the Spirit’s struggles to attack, adding “But that comes with time. I feel like that’s something we can work on. It’s been something that we needed to work on, so it’s a wakeup call.”

The Spirit next play Racing Louisville at home on Friday, August 15.

Three takeaways 

• Card problems. Gotham was shown the only red card, but the Spirit suffered plenty of ill effects from the application of cards in this match. Not only did they fail to adapt to capitalize on the changed game state, but they incurred a future suspension themselves. Narumi Miura earned her fifth yellow card of the season in the 61st minute and will have to sit out next week’s match.
• Pitch conditions. Fans were quick to notice that the pitch at Sports Illustrated Stadium was in suboptimal conditions, looking dry and patchy in many places. Post-match, González hinted that conditions limited Spirit’s ability to play fast, but when asked directly said, “To be honest, I don’t want to talk about the pitch because it’s going to sound like an excuse…. We haven’t tied because of the field.” Hal Hershfelt was similarly dismissive of the idea it impacted her team’s performance, saying “Shit happens.”
• Cantore’s first NWSL match. Italian player (and Ballon d’Or Féminin nominee) Sofia Cantore’s 45 minutes in this match marked her NWSL debut. Perhaps it wasn’t the best debut, given the game state, but she took her first shot on goal with a header in the 56th minute and showed her versatility in attacking both from the wing and centrally.

Box Score

NWSL Regular Season –  Game 15

NJ/NY Gotham FC 0

Washington Spirit 0

Lineups

NJ/NY Gotham FC (433): Ann-Katrin Berger; Mandy Freeman (C), Jess Carter (Kayla Duran 79′), Emily Sonnett, Lily Reale; Rose Lavelle (Nealy Martin 63′), Jaelin Howell, Geyse; Sarah Schupansky (Katie Stengel 63′), Khyah Harper (Gabi Portilho 46′), Esther González (Midge Purce 88′)

Washington Spirit (3412): Aubrey Kingsbury (C); Kate Wiesner (Courtney Brown 58′), Tara McKeown, Gabby Carle, Esme Morgan, Rebeca Bernal; Narumi Miura (Makenna Morris 71′), Hal Hershfelt, Croix Bethune (Heather Stainbrook 88′); Rosemonde Kouassi (Sofia Cantore 46′), Gift Monday (Trinity Rodman 58′)

Misconduct Summary

NJ/NY Gotham FC:  Geyse 30′ (red), Lavelle 59′, González 72′

Washington Spirit:  Wiesner 11′, Miura 61′

Lead image shows Sofia Cantore running on the field in her yellow Spirit jersey. Image courtesy of the Washington Spirit.