Saturday night, the Washington Spirit (14-4-7) return to Audi Field to face off against Angel City FC (11-6-8). Heading into Week 25 of the season, the Spirit are sitting at second in the table and Angel City have fought their way to sixth. With only five games left, every team is hungry for a win.

During today’s pregame press conference, head coach Adrián González said, “Honestly, we are not thinking about playoffs. We are thinking about Angel City right now and we still have chances to win the shield, so that’s our main focus.”

What to Expect

Adrián might be the only one who isn’t thinking about playoffs at all, allegedly. As it stands, if the Spirit win and a few other games fall their way (Boston wins/draws AND either Utah wins OR Denver + North Carolina win), they could clinch a playoff spot by the end of the weekend.

“You could argue that we’re probably a little bit fortunate to still be in second place, but I think that’s the nature of this league: it’s so competitive,” goalkeeper Sandy MacIver commented during the MD-1 presser. While the Spirit may be a bit lucky to have held on to their position in the table despite mixed performances, Angel City has not left their season up to fate. ACFC has only lost one of their last 10 matches, and they are coming to Washington D.C. hungry to keep their winning streak going.

Previously

While Angel City hasn’t managed to have as successful a record as the Spirit, in many ways these teams are evenly matched. In their previous meeting on August 16th, they finished level with a 1-1 draw. Washington maintained 55% of possession, but both teams had exactly 17 shots, with only three on target. Just over a year ago, they similarly drew 2-2. Some of us even still remember the dramatic 4-3 loss that the Spirit experienced at home to ACFC in May 2025, where they managed to tie the game in the 89th minute, only to have Angel City get one last goal at 90+8′.

But beyond the often dramatic meetings between these two squads, this year they are most comparable when it comes to a head-to-head roster comparison. Both teams have solid defenses with speedy fullbacks that like to join the attack. Both teams are spoiled for choice when it comes to goal scoring threats and world-class attacking talent, even coming off the bench. Most importantly, they are both capable of looking like one of the best squads in the league, or looking unrecognizably mediocre.

Washington Spirit

How They Got Here

Last week’s game in Chicago was a blur. No literally, almost the entire broadcast was blurry due to rain. It’s probably better that the folks at home couldn’t see it, because somehow the Spirit managed to make a 3-0 victory sort of lackluster (and it wasn’t the camera lens).

“I’m sure [Adrián] would love to win every game with pretty football; I think I’m probably a bit more [pragmatic] in that I just want to win, and I want to get a clean sheet, and you know: if it’s ugly, it’s ugly,” MacIver commented. Perhaps this mentality is what helped her set a Spirit record last week with her 10th clean sheet of the season (woohoo!).

Despite the clean sheet and coming home with an important three points, Washington only managed to put up 1.34 non-penalty xG to Chicago’s 1.15xG. Expected Goals (xG) is an imperfect metric, but what that number tells me is that on a different day with a slightly different set of circumstances (maybe the opposition’s keeper makes a few exceptional saves, or perhaps a questionable hand-ball call falls against the Spirit instead of for) the Spirit were dangerously close to a draw or maybe even a loss.

It does not take a brilliant soccer analyst to see from last week’s Passing Network that the Spirit were not making great connections in their attack against Chicago. If the Spirit cannot win decisively against the worst team in the league, the end of the season is certain to be an uphill battle.

Key Difference Makers

One area that was working for the Spirit last weekend was Hal Hershfelt and Andi Sullivan starting in the midfield with Mélissa Bethi playing in front of them. Hal and Andi have rediscovered their flow together in who presses and who holds defensively, and finding that rhythm allowed Hershfelt to provide three goal scoring chances, including the quick pass that found Trinity Rodman for an early goal in the 7th minute (more of those please). Bethi was also connecting well with Gabby Carle and Rodman, creating a good attacking triangle on the left side. Although she went down with what looked like a painful leg injury in the 75′, she is available and expected to play this week. Inshallah she is 90 minutes fit.

In exciting news, recent signing Clara Luvanga is finally available to play! The 21-year-old from Tanzania joins the Spirit after scoring an absolutely stupid number of goals three years in a row for club Al Nassr in the Saudi Women’s Premier League. You can learn more about her in our article here, or from this clip:

Angel City FC

How They Got Here

Angel City is kind of kicking butt lately. They’ve scored 16 goals in their last five matches (W-W-D-W-W). They have found their rhythm, and with Savy King back from injury their defense is even more difficult to penetrate. Last week’s game against Utah afforded them some unexpected rest when two players from the Royals received red cards in the 11th and 24th minutes. Hopefully there will be no hair pulling this week.

Ever since Norwegian coach Leif Gunnar Smerud stepped in as interim head coach in July, ACFC’s momentum has been building. Unlike many teams in the NWSL, this Angel City squad typically puts out the same starting lineup and consistently relies on the same shape/gameplan against every opponent–if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it! This predictability will be what the Spirit will need to take advantage of in order to score.

Key Difference Makers

Angel City’s typical XI defense has Evelyn Shores (left), Sarah Gorden (CB), Emily Sams (CB), and Savy King (right). Typically, they play more of a three-back and Shores drifts forward and wide (see above). This works well because she’s a talented winger and Sarah Gorden is a superhuman and can cover the space. It also creates a pocket for left-winger(?) Ally Sentnor to drift toward the middle, giving her better opportunities to go toward goal, and she has seven goals and four assists to show for it. As you can see from her Heatmap (below), she doesn’t occupy the typical space of an attacker on the wing, instead they play her inverted and Shores creates the width.

Somehow, the bigger defensive headache often comes from the right side. Icelandic superstar forward Sveindís Jónsdóttir leads the team with eight goals so far this season (+3 assists). If she isn’t fast enough to make any defender demand a hydration break, Gisele Thompson is right on her flank ready to pounce on the ball. And if you overcommit to covering Jónsdóttir and Thompson, Maiara Niehues will swoop in just when you least expect it.

While ACFC has attacking threats from all sides, if the Spirit defense stays smart and the whole squad is careful in their press not to overcommit and risk a (lightning fast) counterattack, they should be able to win in the middle of the park. On offense, they need to strategically take advantage of the space between Sarah Gorden and Emily Sams. More pressure on Sams will either force an error or push ACFC to backwards and give the Spirit more room toward goal.

It also wouldn’t hurt if the Spirits have a banana before kickoff, and maybe stick a mustard packet in their sock, just in case.

Availability Reports

Washington Spirit:

OUT: Deborah Abiodun (SEI), Aubrey Kingsbury (Maternity Leave), Casey Krueger (Maternity Leave), Leicy Santos (Foot), Kate Wiesner (Ankle – D45), Madison Haugen (Excused)

ACFC:

Location: Audi Field, Washington D.C.
Kickoff time: 6:30 PM ET
Available TV: ION