It was a picturesque day at Audi Field on Saturday evening when the Washington Spirit hosted the Utah Royals in front of 15,016 fans. The visitors entered the match in the penultimate place in the standings, sitting just above the Chicago Stars. The Spirit, on the other hand, was in prime position for a top-three spot. Aubrey Kingsbury passed Ashlyn Harris for 4th all-time with 519 saves, and it was the Spirit’s 11th match with over 15,000 in attendance since 2024.
The hosts came out in a 4-4-2, with adjustments made due to numerous injuries. Trinity Rodman is still out with a back injury and Croix Bethune, Hal Hershfelt, and Casey Krueger are slowly making their way back into rotation. Meg Boade started once again in the midfield while Rosemonde Kouassi and Gift Monday started on the wings.
The Royals’ attack caught the Spirit defense out of place and forced a 9th-minute goal that silenced Audi Field. A fierce shot within the 18 forced a diving save from Aubrey Kingsbury. Brecken Mozingo found the rebound in open space and slotted home the match’s first goal in the near corner.
The Spirit put up pressure and almost pulled one back after Croix Bethune threaded the defense and laid off a perfect ball in the center of the box, but went untouched by the attack. They would eventually square things up with a goal from Ashley Hatch. Gabby Carle fired a cross by the touch line that deflected to Hatch, who spun her defender and fired a shot above McGlynn.
It took less than a minute for the Spirit to draw level, which sent the Spirit crowd into a frenzy. Croix Bethune found an attacking Kouassi down the right flank. She blew past Nuria Rábano and passed the ball in front of the keeper. Meg Boade poached the free ball and tapped it past the keeper.
The back and forth continued when Utah willed another goal to bring the match to 2-2. In a moment of déjà vu, a deflection sent Kingsbury to the ground, only for the deflected ball to land at the feet of Cece Kizer. Kizer aimed at the back of the net and beat a fallen Kingsbury to level things up.
Defensive mistakes have been the story for the hosts, and that continued throughout the first half. When Utah attacked, if they didn’t thread down the middle, they sent crosses from either side of the pitch. This time, a wild cross from the left flank came into the box, catching the defense flat-footed. Amid the craziness, Rebeca Bernal blocked a ball directly in front of Kingsbury, which rolled backwards behind the goal line.
It’s not about the goal, it’s about the entire play: strikers, defenders, defensive line, box, every time we need to speak the same language, we don’t.”
Washington Spirit head coach Jonatan Giráldez on the defensive problems today
In the second half, the first solid chance for the Spirit came in the 61st minute. After penetrating the defense on a counterattack, Croix Bethune held the ball up in the middle of the box. She found Casey Krueger waiting unmarked on the far side. Krueger stepped up to the ball and fired a low effort straight at the keeper for an easy save. They followed up with an opportunity from a free kick just outside the 18. A cross came in to Courtney Brown, who headed the ball just off target.
The officiating was tough against the hosts, and a lot of would-be fouls went unnoticed. But in the 88th minute, the Spirit saw justice when Casey Krueger was brought down inside the box for an obvious penalty, and it was awarded. Ashley Hatch stepped up to the spot but was denied by McGlynn. With 13 minutes of stoppage time added, it was now or never for the hosts.
Rebeca Bernal gave the Spirit a good chance in 90+9′, but her headed effort was deflected just over the bar. But the homeside finally found redemption 12 minutes into stoppage time as Tara McKeown sent a goal-line cross into the box to Casey Krueger, who connected with a power header to send the ball past McGlynn.
“I feel like the beginning of the game was very intense,” started Croix Bethune post-match. “Sometimes when you’re doing great on the attack you get tired on the defensive side and I feel like that kinda affected us.”
The Spirit will head out west to Seattle to face the Reign on May 23 at 10:00 PM ET.
-Jon Jones
Photo: Eyoel Fassil