After sitting comfortably in second place for the majority of the season, Washington Spirit (14-4-8) are now third (tied on points with Utah in fourth) and head into a match against Houston Dash (8-6-12) that’s close to a must win to secure a playoff game at Rowdy Audi. Beyond that, the Spirit are also looking to establish momentum that’s been scarce since August. They’ve lost two of their last three, and have just three wins since August 2nd.

There’s also the ongoing trepidation about the team’s goalscoring; or, erm, lack thereof. The club has been shutout three times in their last six games, and if you set aside their three goals against Chicago Stars—the worst team in the league and one of the worst teams in recent NWSL history—the Spirit have scored three goals since August 23rd. Not only is this game important for playoff positioning at the end of the regular season, it’s also one of the team’s last opportunities to start looking more like themselves before the playoffs begin.

What to Expect

I’d like to tell you some good news. That the team is high on confidence and has an array of methods to contain the opposition defensively while imposing their will in attack. Suddenly, they don’t, and there are lots of reasons why. While some of these reasons are more logical explanation than excuse, how they’re coded doesn’t alter or soften the reality of the team’s recent lackluster performances.

Head coach Adrián González still has a talented squad of players to field, and the task of finding ways to be better than their opponents. Looking at the table, Houston should be an opponent that the Spirit can overwhelm. However the same could have been said about Orlando Pride (0-1 loss), Boston Legacy (0-3 loss), and Bay FC (narrow and nervy 1-0 win).

So no, I can’t tell you what to expect. Just grab an emotional support stuffy and/or snack and let’s find out together.

Previously

The last time these teams met it was July 3rd, which was also Andi Sullivan’s first start since returning from tearing her ACL and having a baby. Trinity Rodman ensured the team secured the win with a brace, though Houston managed to add the Spirit to the roster of teams they’ve scored a late goal against (Faasse, 89′).

Houston Dash

How They Got Here

Houston are the only team in the bottom 5 to not be mathematically eliminated from the playoffs yet. It will happen soon, they’re only one point above Boston below them, and have a -4 goal difference. The only question is whether the Spirit are going to drive the final nail or leave it up to someone else.

Key Difference Makers

Despite Houston’s position in the table, in rookie Kat Rader they have a double digit goal scorer in their midst. Her ten goals place her one behind the rookie scoring record of 11, set by Diana Ordóñez in 2022. She’s an interesting problem to solve because she’s often listed as an attacking midfielder but makes frequent runs in behind.

Unfortunately for the Spirit, it’s not all about Rader. Fellow rookies Kate Faasse and Linda Ullmark are tied for the team lead in assists (3) alongside Avery Patterson. However, when it comes to the scoring burden, Rader’s ten goals and one assist account for ~34% of the goals Houston has scored (they’ve benefited from four own goals).

Kiki Van Zanten looked poised for a breakout season after dropping two braces in their first four games, but has gone on to score once since April 25th. Faasse and Own Goal are tied as Houston’s third highest scorers this season.

Washington Spirit

How They Got Here

Well, this is a loaded question. And quite frankly, we simply do not have the time. But allow me to try and drop a tl;dr version: The Spirit started the season looking like one of the clear best teams in the league, only losing three times before the calendar turned to August. Since then they have five losses, one draw and just three wins.

There are lots of reasons for this, and most center around teams adapting to and countering the Spirit’s preferred gameplan, key injuries, a late season reshuffling of the team with multiple new additions, and non-Trinity Rodman attacking players losing form and lacking goal contributions.

Jason Anderson, our BlogFather and writer of Green Line Soccer, delved into the myriad problems the Spirit are having. It’s lengthy but well worth a read to get your head around all the things that have led the team to this point.

Key Difference Makers

One thing Jason explores in his piece is how the issues stem much broader than Leicy Santos. However, it’s my opinion that a substantive number of the current issues would be addressed and most likely resolved by a healthy Leicy Santos. Spoiler alert though, Santos will once again be unavailable for this game.

Therefore my key difference makers are anyone who can help the team solve the problems that have vexed the team in her absence. González has tried a number of solutions, from Hal Hershfelt to Mélissa Bethi to Monique Ngock to Ashley Hatch. They all have the positives and negatives, but none have stood out as the solution. That’s not unexpected, Leicy Santos’ name is known globally precisely because she possesses a rare skill set.

But Santos hasn’t been available since August 8th, and the team’s last midweek game was July 29th. Structural problems are typically chiseled away at on the training pitch, and the Spirit have now also had a month with two of their three new additions (Ngock and Bethi; striker Clara Luvanga joined the team just over a week ago), plus healthy and available veterans Ashley Hatch and Andi Sullivan. With time to train and a squad that’s gaining more familiarity with every training session and game, the hope is that some manner of resolution comes into focus soon.

I just don’t know what that will end up looking like. Bethi has been fun, but isn’t ready to do a consistent spot-on Leicy Santos impression just yet. With Rose Kouassi struggling and the Spirit needing to keep a consistent box presence and threat in behind, I liked the brief look of shifting Sofia Cantore to the right forward/winger position to slot Ashley Hatch in at central striker. The glimpse we had of it against Chicago was interesting, but it was Chicago, so. Given these uncertainties, the primary difference maker has had to be Trinity Rodman—but she and the Spirit desperately need that list to grow.

While it’s generally unkind and unfair to task a new addition to the team and NWSL in general with contributing immediately, it has been done before. Rose Kouassi proved an extremely dangerous 1v1 player from her first minutes with the Spirit, and Gift Monday arrived midseason and finished the year leading the team in goals. There’s not enough time for Clara Luvanga to do the latter (Rodman is at 11 and counting), but she has the sort of unique talent that can break the Spirit out of their attacking slump.

Luvanga’s first NWSL action came last week with a thirty’ish minute appearance against Angel City. She tried some audacious stuff, and some more common stuff, and managed to look fast against the fastest defense in the league. It was obvious she had at most a training session and a half with the team, but it was also obvious that her attacking profile is one the Spirit don’t have on the roster at central striker, and that she’s going to be a problem for opponents sooner rather than later.

Availability Reports

Houston Dash:

OUT: Dani Colaprico (Lower leg), Evelina Duljan (Excused absence), Makenzy Robbe (Knee – SEI), Linda Ullmark (Face), Amanda West (Knee – SEI)
QUESTIONABLE: Jordan Brewster (Knee)
MATERNITY LEAVE: Malia Berkely

Washington Spirit:

Location: Shell Energy Stadium (Houston, TX)
Kickoff time: 7 PM ET
Available TV: Roku Channel