Two own goals, two set piece goals, and a penalty kick goal made for a weird game on Saturday afternoon, when the Washington Spirit played Orlando Pride in their final regular season home game of the year. The Spirit were playing fun, free-flowing, attacking football but, as Aubrey Kingsbury put it, got the details wrong in important moments, leading to their 3-2 defeat.

Spirit coach Adrián González said he felt his team had performed better than reflected in the results but he thinks the team is “in a good spot” for the upcoming playoffs, despite the loss, reiterating that the issues in yesterday’s game were “a matter of details.” He also credited Orlando’s performance.

“We all know that they are a good team, and it wasn’t an easy game today,” he said.

First much of the first half, the teams traded possession and attacks but with limited shots. Washington finally broke through with a goal from a set piece in the 35th minute. After Croix Bethune was fouled in the right corner of the field, Kate Wiesner aimed her kick perfectly to the edge of the goal area. With Spirit players also leaping for it, Orlando’s Kerry Abello got there first, heading the ball down into her own goal.

Abello couldn’t let her mistake go unaddressed. Minutes later, her team won a free kick in the Spirit’s third. Rebeca Bernal headed the kick away from the wall, but Abello rushed forward to it. With plenty of time and space, she struck it directly past the rest of the field and into the back of the net.

In the 42nd minute, Metayer scuffed a cross right along the endline toward goal. That it stayed in bounds was itself a marvel, but Sofia Cantore’s flick behind her back had the crowd on their feet. Her tricky shot just slipped past a defender and then Moorhouse to go into the near corner and put the Spirit ahead again.

Both teams made substitutions to start the second half, but it was Orlando’s introduction of Brazilian legend Marta that made the biggest difference in the result. In her first minute on the pitch, Marta maneuvered around Kate Wiesner in the box and crossed the ball. It hit off of Narumi Miura’s foot and into the goal, tying things up.

Marta got the chance to show more of her skills later, after Kysha Sylla came in too hard, making contact with Ally Watt in the box and earning a penalty call. With a stutter step approach, Marta faked out Kingsbury, causing Washington’s keeper to jump the wrong way and converting her penalty kick.

“Marta’s one of the best,” Kingsbury said. “She can score left, right, and center.” Kingsbury said she considered Marta’s recent PK form when guessing where she might place the ball, but “when someone can score anywhere,” defending a penalty kick against them is a big challenge.

González said that he thinks the team is “in a good spot” for the upcoming playoffs, despite the loss, reiterating that the issues in yesterday’s game were “a matter of details.”

“I think it comes down to some little one-v-one defending moments that can make the difference in a tight game like this,” Kate Wiesner said. “But the good thing is that those are very fixable things, and that’s on us, right? So we get to go back on the training ground and work on those and try to improve and fix it heading into playoffs…. This was good timing, if it’s going to happen to happen now.”

Up next: The NWSL will take a break for the next two weeks for a FIFA window, before returning for Decision Day on Sunday, Nov. 2, when the Spirit will face the Utah Royals.

Three takeaways 

• International break impact. While some Spirit players will now get an opportunity to rest after a busy October, eight players will be joining their national teams for an intense window of international friendlies. González said he is “super proud” of these players and will be watching their matches, though he expressed concerns about whether they would get the rest they need, which motivated roster decisions for the Orlando game. “We wanted to be aware today and try to be a little bit more conservative on making those subs,” he said.
• The Spirit’s game keeps growing. Attendance at this match was 17,038 — Washington’s eighth game over 15,000 this year. Their total home attendance for the season was 198,383, beating their previous record by approximately 18,000 fans.
• Fan activism continues. On the same day as “No Kings” protests around the country, Spirit fans joined the protest by displaying signs like “No Kings, Only Queens,” in addition to their 51st minute “Free DC” chant. “I think we’re in a unique situation where we get to kind of be a voice for our city, and represent kind of a lot of the diversity that the city stands for,” Metayer said after the game. “And I think that we just like to show our support for the city and whatever the city is feeling at these times; like I think that’s great that our games are a place where they can represent themselves and make a stand for something larger.”

Box Score

NWSL Regular Season –  Game 25

Washington Spirit 2 (Abello (OG) 36′, Cantore 42′)

Orlando Pride 3 (Abello 38′, Miura (OG) 47′, Marta (P) 73′)

Lineups

Washington Spirit (4231): Aubrey Kingsbury (C); Rebeca Bernal (Esme Morgan 46′), Kate Wiesner, Kysha Sylla, Paige Metayer (Gabby Carle 58′); Narumi Miura, Deb Abiodun (Hal Hershfelt 75′), Heather Stainbrook (Leicy Santos 58′); Croix Bethune (Gift Monday 46′), Brittany Ratcliffe, Sofia Cantore

Orlando Pride (433): Anna Moorhouse; Oihane Hernandez (Julie Doyle 88′), Emily Sams, Rafaelle Souza, Kerry Abello (Cori Dyke 46′); Ally Lemos (Simone Charley 68′), Haley McCutcheon (C), Angelina Constantino; Jacquie Ovalle, Carson Pickett (Marta 46′), Ally Watt (Zara Chavoshi 76”)

Misconduct Summary

Washington Spirit:  Morgan 80′, Cantore 80′

Orlando Pride:  Dyke 77′, Ovalle 90+1′, Charley 90+8′

Lead image courtesy of the Washington Spirit