Washington Spirit ended another long road trip with a win in Boston on Sunday night, winning their first-ever contest against the Legacy. Tara Rudd and Trinity Rodman both scored to put the Spirit ahead in the first half, and the team held on through a late goal from Boston’s Sammy Smith to earn the win.

After a mid-week match in New York on Wednesday, the Spirit rotated their squad heavily for this match. Paige Metayer got her first start of the season, while four players — Gift Monday, Claudia Martínez, Deb Abiodun, and Élisabeth Tsé — started for their third time. The team’s first half dominance despite these changes speaks to the high quality of the squad Washington has built. Adrián González said he was proud of the job his starters had done.

“We are a team that believes that every player is important and every player has a role,” he said, saying the team’s depth will be important in the second half of this season, as they push for a shield while losing players to the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations.

Their first goal came about 25 minutes into play. Recycling the ball from a Spirit corner kick, Leicy Santos crossed it from the top corner of the box to the far post. Rudd leaped up to head it back towards the other side of the goal and into the net. The goal is Rudd’s first of the season, coming just a week after her first assist.

After Rebeca Bernal forced turnover in midfield, Monday slipped the ball between defenders for Rodman to run in behind, placing it perfectly at Rodman’s feet. With three defenders trying to chase her down, Rodman slipped it past Casey Murphy’s right side to double the lead.

Monday credited Rodman’s positioning on the play for helping to create the goal: “I saw Trin was quite close to me at first, so when I got the ball, I knew she was going to run.”

Presaging their comeback attempt in the second half, Boston threatened with a couple of good-looking shots in first half stoppage time, but both went off target.

The Legacy came out into the second half with a more effective press, keeping the Spirit pinned back at first. The away side were able to break through for a few attacks but faced more than their share of shots as Boston sought to keep a winning streak alive.

Late in the second half, Boston made a long pass forward to Sammy Smith. Sandy MacIver came out of her goal but mistimed the block, leaving the goal open for Smith’s shot.

The Legacy continued to push for an equalizer, but their push had come too late. The final whistle blew as their last shot flew over the goal, with Washington still on top.

Up next: The Spirit get a week off before playing Denver Summit at home on Sunday, July 26.

Three takeaways 

• Competing for the shield. Despite a loss in their midweek game, this win put the Spirit on top of the NWSL standings for the first time this year. They’re tied with Gotham FC at 30 points but win out with a goal differential of 12. Those two are looking slightly comfortable, with a game in hand apiece over the third- and fourth-placed teams.
• An uncomfortable pattern. If this match felt eerily similar to Washington’s win against NC Courage last weekend, you may be onto something. Both matches featured dominant 2-0 first-half performances for the Spirit before second halves where the team was pushed onto the back foot. They managed to win both, but the team should be concerned if they are consistently failing to adapt to opponents’ half-time adjustments.
• WAFCON. This game is expected to be the last for a few weeks for Deb Abiodun, Rose Kouassi, and Gift Monday, who will represent their national teams in the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco. The tournament begins next Sunday and will extend through August 6.

Box Score

NWSL Regular Season –  Game 15

Boston Legacy FC 1 (Smith 88′)
Washington Spirit 2 (Rudd 25′, Rodman 31′)

Lineups

Boston Legacy FC (352): Casey Murphy; Bianca St-Georges, Jorelyn Carabalí, Emerson Elgin; Nichelle Prince (C) (Amanda Gutierres 72′), Lily Reale, Annie Karich, Barbara Olivieri, Alba Caño (Aleigh Gambone 90+1′); Aissata Traoré, Ella Stevens (Sammy Smith 59′)

Washington Spirit (4231): Sandy MacIver; Élisabeth Tsé, Kate Wiesner, Tara Rudd, Paige Metayer; Rebeca Bernal, Leicy Santos (Andi Sullivan 81′), Deborah Abiodun (Hal Hershfelt 57′); Trinity Rodman (Gabby Carle 76′), Claudia Martínez (Rosemonde Kouassi 57′), Gift Monday (Sofia Cantore 46′)

Misconduct Summary

Boston Legacy FC:  St-Georges 53′
Washington Spirit:  Abiodun 45+3′, Sullivan 90+2′