Washington Spirit earned their first-ever win at Providence Park on Sunday after, with a 2-1 victory over Portland Thorns FC. Despite a poor attack to start, the Spirit overcame a first-half penalty goal by Sophia Wilson with a penalty shot of their own for Tara Rudd and a first-time NWSL goal for Mélissa Bethi.

“It feels good, especially because I’ve been on the receiving end of… two of those L’s here,” Hal Hershfelt said of the team’s historic win. “It’s a really hard environment to play in as an away team.”

After an even start, things changed for the Spirit when Monique Ngock conceded a penalty in the 17th minute. Pursuing Nina Nijstad into the box, Ngock put a hand to her opponent’s back, and Nijstad went to the ground. Wilson took the resulting penalty kick and easily converted it when Sandy MacIver chose the wrong side.

Portland kept the pressure on, forcing MacIver to make a series of big saves in the 27th minute. After blocking the ball from the right side of her goal, MacIver had to dive quickly to the left to stop another shot. The Spirit defenders stopped blocked another two before the ball was finally cleared out of play.

“It just shows the work that she’s put in all season,” Rudd said of the saves. “It just really lifts the group. That could have changed the momentum of the game if it had gone in, so big props to her.”

The Spirit looked the most dangerous in the first half in the 35th minute, one of the few times Trinity Rodman had the ball in that half. She drove forward but quickly found herself surrounded by Portland players and without a clear passing option. After bumping an opponent off her back, Rodman scooped the ball overhead toward Rose Kouassi. Kouassi managed to settle it but had to recycle it back out of the box. The play ended with Bethi forcing a corner that was defended out by the Thorns.

Adrián González said the Spirit struggled with finding players in midfield in the first half, due to Portland’s aggressive jumping. In the second, they pushed Ngock up, leaving Hershfelt as the sole holding midfielder. The move was designed to help Sofia Cantore remain in space between the center backs and take some pressure off of Rodman and Kouassi on the wings.

Just before the 60th minute, the referee called a foul along the side of the box for a foul against Ngock, but VAR called him over for another look. After a few minutes, the call was reversed to a penalty for a foul on Cantore in the box earlier on the play. Captain Rudd took the ball to the penalty spot and, like Wilson before her, sent the keeper in the wrong direction, bringing the Spirit level with a powerful shot.

First on the list to take penalty kicks, Rudd said she knew that the role would fall to her. With some pride, she also mentioned that her last penalty kick was in the Challenge Cup, “and it was a game-winner.”

The Spirit seemed to be energized by the goal and finally began attacking better. They took seven of their 10 shots after the goal, including the 80th minute game-winner.

Collecting the ball after a corner, Kouassi found Paige Metayer centrally. Metayer quickly passed the ball along to Rodman on the right. Rodman took the ball to the endline, then cut back to Bethi. With a touch, Bethi slid it toward the goal with just enough power to get over Mackenzie Arnold’s foot for her first NWSL goal.

“She’s a phenomenal player, and I feel like she’s so shifty and crafty,” Hershfelt said. Both she and González agreed that Bethi brings creativity to the team that they’ve been missing.

The Spirit had a few more opportunities, including a close shot, assisted by Bethi, that nearly got Rodman a goal of her own. With eight minutes of stoppage time, the team largely relied on game management and some stout defending to see the game out. Hershfelt said she saw improvement from the past in how the Spirit saw out the game.

“I was so happy that the girls pulled it together, and we kind of just stayed true to who we are, regardless of all the outside noise and what was going on. I’m proud of us,” Hershfelt said.

Up next: The Spirit are back at home next Sunday, playing 14th-ranked Boston Legacy.

Three takeaways 

• Results versus performance. In addition to being a historic first win in Portland, this game had big implications for the playoff picture: a loss would have seen the Thorns overtake the Spirit. Instead, Washington gained on leaders Gotham FC and are now just two points away from the top. However, it exposed a number of ongoing problems, particularly in the attack. The Spirit only recorded two shots in the first half, despite holding a majority of possession, and often looked hesitant in the final third, turning promising attacks into passes to the backline. González said the team’s attacking shape was designed to limit exposure to Wilson and Pietra Tordin in transition, but a lack of potency in the final third is a recurring problem for Washington and one that could seriously hamper their playoff chances.
• A tale of two starters. After debuts last week, both Bethi and Ngock made their first starts for Washington in this match. While Bethi got the opportunity to secure her new team a win, Ngock had a very different experience. She gave up both a penalty kick and a dangerous free kick in the first half and had to be checked for a concussion after taking a shot to the face from close range in the second. Despite these tribulations, González said he thought she’d done a great job in general. “She is a type of player that is very aggressive,” he said, “and obviously we will need to be able to manage those tackles,” but he was complimentary of her positioning and her work getting into the attack in the second half.
• Sullivan’s red. One major flaw in the Spirit’s game management performance was that it required Andi Sullivan to make two play-stopping tackles, earning herself two yellows in stoppage time. Her suspension will put the suddenly-short-on-defensive-midfielders Spirit even shorter next week, but her coach viewed her performance as “a sacrifice that she made for the team.” “She has shown how professional she is, understanding what the team needed at that time,” González said, “It’s not easy to play those minutes when emotions are so high, when the opponent is pushing forward… She always puts what the team needs ahead of herself, and she’s done that today.”

Box Score

NWSL Regular Season –  Game 23

Portland Thorns FC 1 (Wilson 18′ (P))
Washington Spirit 2 (Rudd 59′ (P), Bethi 80′)

Lineups

Portland Thorns FC (4231): Mackenzie Arnold; M.A. Vignola (Reyna Reyes 84′), Jayden Perry, Sam Hiatt (C), Carolyn Calzada (Maddie Padaleski 84′); Nina Nijstad, Jessie Fleming, Pietra Tordin; Reilyn Turner (Marie Müller 63′), Morgan Weaver (Caiya Hanks 46′), Sophia Wilson

Washington Spirit (433): Sandy MacIver; Tara Rudd (C), Gabby Carle, Esme Morgan, Paige Metayer; Monique Ngock (Andi Sullivan 73′), Hal Hershfelt, Mélissa Bethi (Élisabeth Tsé 90+8′), Trinity Rodman, Sofia Cantore (Gift Monday 87′), Rose Kouassi (Madison Haugen 88′)

Misconduct Summary

Portland Thorns FC:  Perry 90+3′
Washington Spirit:  Ngock 26′, Rudd 32′, Sullivan 90+2′, 90+7′

Lead photo by Jason Taylor