The Washington Spirit kicked off their Concacaf W Champions Cup campaign by demolishing Alianza 7-0 in San Salvador. Sandy MacIver earned a clean sheet and five different players scored for the Spirit, with Rosemonde Kouassi earning a hat-trick.
The Spirit came into the tournament with a new look XI, with all starters on the bench except Rosemonde Kouassi. With Sandy MacIver in goal, the backline was anchored by Courtney Brown, Kysha Sylla, Paige Metayer, and Lauren Gogal. Narumi Miura, Heather Stainbrook, and Chloe Ricketts made up the midfield, while Makenna Morris and Brittany Ratcliffe supported Kouassi up top.
The Washington Spirit controlled the flow of the match from the kickoff until around the 15th minute. That’s when Lesley Calderón got Alianza’s first look at goal. Without much power behind it, a low effort header with accuracy bounced slowly to goalkeeper Sandy MacIver.
In the 19th minute, Alianza’s Neyda Martínez fouled Chloe Ricketts in the box, which resulted in a penalty. Rosemonde Kouassi stepped up to take the try and converted it for Spirit’s first goal.
Chloe Ricketts continued to cause problems for Alianza’s defense and landed on the score sheet in the 24th minute. On a counterattack, she dribbled into traffic and fired on goal, with Samantha Valadez blocking her first attempt. After recovering the ball, she tried again and beat Valadez to her left to push the lead to 2-0.
Rosemonde Kouassi was driving into the box with constant pressure from Alianza’s Santana Pressley. Kouassi took a shot on goal with her left foot, but it was deflected wide by Valadez. Brittany Ratcliffe poached the ball on the right side and fired a rocket into the back of the net in the 49th minute.
In the 52nd minute, Makenna Morris took a shot on goal on the lower corner, near side, and was initially blocked by Valadez. The ball bounced to the left, where Kouassi was waiting, and the forward slotted it home for her second goal of the match.
About 10 minutes into the second half, Alianza changed its defensive strategy and started to press higher up the pitch. The pressure didn’t work for long, and the ladies from the District broke the press and amped up their attack.
It was clear the Spirit were just too much for the Salvadoran side when the ladies went up 5-0. Brittany Ratcliffe was simply owning the right side and continued to be a menace. After building up their attack, Ratcliffe had a step on her defender and once she penetrated their defensive third, sent a low cross into the box across the face of goal. Kouassi just missed the ball to earn her hat trick for the night, and instead, the ball landed in front of Trinity Rodman. The national team superstar made no mistake in acres of space and fired the ball into the back of the net.
Makenna Morris played the ball to Ratcliffe on the right side of the box. Ratcliffe sent a beautiful cross in front of goal that beat the keeper, and Kouassi earned her hat trick after all with a header. Even with a six-goal lead in the 69th minute, the Spirit refused to let up.
Balon d’Or nominee Sofia Cantore got in on the action and got herself a goal for good measure. The final nail in the coffin, she went near-side post on Valadez and beat her in the 89th minute.
Rosemonde Kouassi is the clear player of the match with a hat-trick coming just days after her game-tying goal against Racing Louisville. But Brittany Ratcliffe deserves some praise as well, after being a factor the entire match and completely owning the right side of the pitch. If this is what a perfect game looks like, perhaps they can replicate this in the NWSL Playoffs and bring home a championship.
The Washington Spirit will enjoy their first Concacaf win, get some well-earned rest, and prepare for Saturday’s test on the West Coast against Karlie Lema and Bay FC.
-Jon Jones
Photos: Courtesy of Washington Spirit