- Goalside Gossip
- Posts
- Washington Back to Winning Ways
Washington Back to Winning Ways
Brian Rapuano
March 31, 2025
The Spirit came out roaring for this first half, and, after a goalless loss last week, they were able to put the ball in the back of the net not once but twice, both courtesy of Ashley Hatch. Washington started the second best of the two sides but quickly came into their shell after a near miss from Bay FC’s Penelope Hocking in the sixth minute woke them up. Less than ten minutes later, the Spirit were getting shots up, with Trinity Rodman taking a long-range effort that the keeper could fumble out of the net, only for Makenna Morris to narrowly turn her follow-up attempt around the wrong post. Things stayed relatively calm for both sides until a cross from Leicy Santos found Ashley Hatch’s head, who directed the ball into the far post, subsequently ending her one-game goal-scoring drought. Three minutes later, the Spirit would double their lead after a rough foul on Rodman led to a free kick just outside the box. Narumi Miura sent in a beautiful cross that flew past the Bay FC defenders and yet again found Ashley Hatch, who headed the ball into the same corner as her last goal. The first forty-five minutes ended without much else happening, leaving the Spirit to desire more and Bay FC to rethink their plan in the second half.
A sort-of tale of two halves for the Spirit, as they took their foot off the gas for the majority of the rest of the game. Two early, controversial yellow cards could be at fault for their less aggressive mentality in the second half, but it was evident, even before the cards, that the team and their style of play was subdued. In the sixtieth minute, controversy struck after a Bay FC goal was ruled out for a foul in the buildup from halftime substitute, Racheal Kundananji. She was a bright spot in an otherwise dim looking Bay FC team, and she told us this after the game:
“As a team, we are told that the game changers are the subs. That's what Coach always told us. So when we were seated there, we were just analyzing the game, and like, trying when we go there, we need to change the game, and, like, we need to come up with something. And which we did, we did despite not scoring.”
Later on, the injury woes continued for Washington as Gabrielle Carle exited the pitch with, what looked like, an ankle or hamstring injury. If she is out the next game, it would bring the Spirit’s injury total to ten, a league-high. Notably, among these injuries, are reigning Rookie and Midfielder of the Year, Croix Bethune, and current co-captain and longest tenured Spirit player, Andi Sullivan. The only big chance of the half for the Spirit came from substitute Brittany Ratcliffe, when she missed a half-volley just inside the box. Washington was in trouble once again in the 87th minute, when Asisat Oshoala put the ball in the back of the net, but was once again ruled out, this time for offsides. Aubrey Kingsbury pulled off a fine save in stoppage time to secure the first clean sheet of the season for the Spirit. She had this to say after the game in regards to the defending:
“I think the first one's hard, and then once you get that, it's like, okay, we can do this kind of grind it out. And these games are long. We went, what? 100 [minutes] so like, it should count as like 1.1 shutouts, right? [It] definitely builds momentum, and I think builds our confidence. We know we can see through those hard games, and even though they had a lot of the momentum, it felt like maybe they were going to score, they didn't, and we just kept defending well and hung on to the end.”
Kingsbury was a notable omission from Emma Hayes’ most recent squad for the upcoming international friendlies against Brazil. Trinity Rodman, Ashley Hatch, and Tara McKeown are the three Spirit players called-up for the United States, with Narumi Miura, Leicy Santos, Esme Morgan, and Gabrielle Carle also being called up for their respective nations.
Our standout player of the game this week is, unsurprisingly, Ashley Hatch, who continued her fine form with an all important brace to lift them to victory, and her to the top of the goalscoring charts. She was excited about the opportunity to play again for the national team, a team she has not featured for since 2023, and had this to say about it:
“Obviously, I'm super honored for the opportunity. And I think anytime I can get into boxes for goals, I can prove that, you know, I'm a good player. So hopefully that helps, but I know that it matters what you do in camp. So just trying to stay focused on that as well.”
They hope to bring this win into the next run of games, with two consecutive away matches. The Spirit and the rest of the NWSL will take a one week hiatus from competition while the international break occurs. They are next in action away against Racing Louisville on April 12.
Written by Brian Rapuano