The Washington Spirit lost 3-2 to Orlando Pride this afternoon at Audi Field. The loss is the Spirit’s first in over four months. Home-field advantage was secured through the playoffs last week, so the loss doesn’t affect their standing.
The scoring opened for the Spirit in the 36th minute from an own goal from Pride defender Kerry Abello. From a set-piece, Kate Weisner sent the ball into the box that went off the head of Abello and into the net. The Pride answered almost instantly, equalizing just three minutes later as Abello again found the back of the net, this time for Orlando off an assist from Haley McCutcheon.
Washington took back possession and the lead just before halftime when defender Paige Metayer delivered a pass to Sofia Cantore. The Italian forward converted inside the box with a backheel to give the Spirit a 2-1 lead in the 41st minute.
The Pride benefited from an own goal within the first minute of the second half. Halftime substitute and football legend Marta moved into the box and fired a shot that redirected off Spirit midfielder Narumi Miura and past Aubrey Kingsbury to equalize.
In the 70th minute, a penalty was awarded to the Pride and ultimately converted by Marta, giving Orlando its first lead of the match. After a lengthy 10 minutes of stoppage time, Orlando held on for a 3-2 win, snapping the Spirit’s 12-match unbeaten streak in league play.
“I think today, we probably did enough to have more than a loss to be honest,” said Spirit coach Adrián González after the match. “But we need to accept it, we need to respect what Orlando has done. But in terms of creating chances, we had our opportunities.”
The league will break for the international window, in which 11 Spirit players received call-ups for their respective home countries. Washington will conclude the regular season in Utah with a match against Royals FC on Sunday, November 2. Having clinched home-field advantage in the playoffs, the Spirit will host a quarterfinal match at Audi Field the second weekend of November.
-Jon Jones
Photo: Courtesy of Washington Spirit