After an epic semifinal that went to penalties, the Washington Spirit are headed to the NWSL Championship in Kansas City next Saturday. Rookie Hal Hershfelt saved the Spirit’s season with a last-second goal in stoppage time and goalkeeper Aubrey Kingsbury handled the rest in the penalty shootout.
It was a tough, physical matchup with the defending champions. Gotham’s Bruninha, Emily Sonnett, and Esther González were tough to deal with. González gave NJ/NY Gotham FC the lead in the 56th minute in the second half, mounting even more pressure on the home side to respond.
With about a minute left in the match, star rookie midfielder Hal Hershfelt saved the day with a header that shook Audi Field. Fellow rookie Makenna Morris sent a perfect ball into the box from a free kick that found the head of Hershfelt in a crowded area. With renewed confidence and all of the momentum, things were starting to look up.
As previously stated, the match was physical. Things got chippier in the second half and players had to be separated a handful of times. Reckless tackles that didn’t result in cards were plentiful as well, but luck would miss Gotham’s Bruninha in the 101st minute as a bad tackle earned her a second yellow card.
Extra time came and went and it was time for penalty kicks. There was no time to even make it to the likes of Trinity Rodman since goalkeeper Aubrey Kingsbury stopped all three of Gotham’s attempts, ending the match in the Spirit’s favor.
The Spirit will travel to Kansas City, Missouri for the club’s third-ever NWSL Championship match. The club previously played in the 2016 and 2021 editions of the match, taking home the side’s first league title in 2021. The Spirit will take on the winner of tomorrow afternoon’s Orlando Pride-Kansas City Current match on Saturday, November 23 at CPKC Stadium, kicking off at 8 p.m. EST.
-Jon Jones
Photo: Courtesy of Washington Spirit