The Washington Spirit drew Racing Louisville 2-2 in front of 11,691 fans. This was their 21st match over 11,000 in the past 22 matches at Audi Field. Goalkeeper Aubrey Kingsbury now holds the Spirit record for regular-season starts with 147, and Ballon d’Or nominee Sofia Cantore scored her first goal for the club. She’s also the first Italian to score in NWSL history.
The Spirit’s new signing, Sofia Cantore, started her first match for The District. Their midfield consisted of Leicy Santos, Hal Hershfelt, and Rebeca Bernal. Croix Bethune, Gift Monday, and Cantore played up top while Kate Wiesner, Tara McKeown, Gabby Carle, and Esme Morgan were in defense.
The Spirit saw their first real chance in the 12th minute on a counterattack. Leicy Santos was running with pace down the right side and whipped in a beautiful cross to the far side of goal. As the ball found Croix Bethune inside the box with minimal space, she leaped into the air to redirect the trajectory with her foot. The one-timed effort was blocked at the last second by Louisville’s Jordyn Bloomer.
Racing Louisville saw their first chance in the 25th minute. Ella Hase sent in a low cross to Emma Sears, who was waiting in the middle of the box. Spirit keeper Aubrey Kingsbury cut off her line and deflected the cross away.
They had another chance in the 35th minute from a corner kick. Ellie Jean tried a quick flick into traffic after the corner, but it got lost in a scramble in front of the goal. The Spirit eventually recovered.
The Spirit hit pay dirt in the 39th minute with a long-range strike from Sofia Cantore. Her shot from distance hit the top of the crossbar and bounced off the diving Bloomer.
Just before halftime, Racing thought they had brought one back, but it went off the crossbar. Flying down the right side, Emma Sears had a step on her defender without a soul in the box. Seeing she was on her own, she took a chance from a sharp angle about 20 yards out. The shot outpaced Kingsbury but sailed just too high, hitting the crossbar and getting cleared out of bounds.
The Spirit were a bit unlucky in the 53rd minute when Louisville’s Taylor Flint took a shot from long range. Trying her best to avoid contact, the ball ricocheted off of Rebeca Bernal and rolled backwards past Aubrey Kingsbury.
In the 79th minute, Racing Louisville was awarded a penalty. When Aubrey Kingsbury went up for a ball, she landed on a player on her way down. Savannah DeMelo converted the try and gave her side the lead, 2-1.
“We’re really disappointed,” Racing Louisville’s Ellie Jean began. “We didn’t have any words after the match. We really thought we had won the match (there was 30 seconds left), but anything can happen in this league.”
With 11 minutes of added time, the Spirit had their backs against the wall in desperate need of three points. Rosemonde Kouassi put her team on her back and took on Louisville’s Xi. After being fouled without calls countless times, she recovered a ball, nutmegged Ary Borges, muscled past her to the top of the box, and ripped a long-range shot past Jordyn Bloomer to draw the game 2-2.
“I mean 2-2 is better than a loss,” said Washington Spirit’s Croix Bethune. “We didn’t play bad, but it’s just little things we have to improve on, little mistakes that cost us 2-2.”
Superstar Trinity Rodman is still being gradually integrated into the fold. After a testy affair with 26 fouls, she gave us an honest take on everything that happened tonight. “I’m not happy about it, and I don’t think the team was happy about it either. I still think we need to work on patience in the final third. We’re a really good team on the ball, but I think we get too excited, too hungry, and we start forcing balls in, and that’s where the counterattacks happen.”
She continued with her thoughts on the physicality of the match. “I don’t think we fouled crazy to be completely honest. I think there were a lot of shoulder-to-shoulder fouls that were called that aren’t normally, so that was hard. I think it was one-sided if I’m being honest.” She provided an example to be clear. “If Sav DeMelo (Savannah DeMelo) kicks the ball when somebody’s standing there and then Trinity Rodman does it, it doesn’t have the same effect, and that needs to change.”
The Spirit will prepare for their first Concacaf W Champions Cup test against Alianza on Tuesday, Aug. 19, at 8:00 PM.
-Jon Jones
Photo: Eyoel Fassil