The Spirit defeated Seattle Reign FC 2-1 on Saturday evening at Audi Field. Hal Hershfelt was acknowledged before the match for her 50th match in a Spirit kit. The 19,365 fans in attendance made it the 10th all-time sellout in club history. Leicy Santos and Hal Hershfelt scored for the Spirit, while Reign FC’s goal came from a Spirit own goal.
The Spirit entered the match following a fierce Concacaf W Champions Cup Final loss, where Club América had the better of them 5-3. The only change to Adrián González’s lineup was swapping defender Esme Morgan for Canadian international Elisabeth Tsé.
“We played them a couple weeks ago so I think that prepared us for this game,” Tsé said after the match. “We knew they would press us a lot as center backs. So we played quicker to find the width and the free player.”
In the 18th minute, the Spirit got on the front foot with a goal from Leicy Santos. The Colombian midfielder took a free kick just outside the box. She sent a ball in that could’ve been a cross or a light shot on goal. Either way, it took a bounce and beat a diving Claudia Dickey.
The Spirit nearly doubled their lead in the 35th minute on a counterattack. Rosemonde Kouassi got a step on her defender while penetrating the box on the right side and sent a cross a few yards in front of goal. Sofia Cantore wound up for the volley, and while the power would’ve beaten the keeper, her shot was off just slightly, cruising past the post out of bounds.
It happened again four minutes later when Hal Hershfelt sent a perfect long ball to a pacing Trinity Rodman. Once the ball landed, it picked up speed, delaying Rodman by a step as Dickey sprinted out to claim the ball.
Seattle pulled one back on a defensive fluke by the Spirit. While closing down her defender, Lucia Di Guglielmo, facing her own net, kicked the ball backwards, soaring over the head of goalkeeper Sandy MacIver.
In the second half of action, Hal Hershfelt came narrowly close to reclaiming the lead after a mishap by Dickey in the keeper’s box. Hershfelt jumped in front of a pass from Dickey, steadied possession, and sent a left-footed effort skimming over the crossbar.
Nerilia Mondesir almost led her side ahead on a counterattack in the 79th minute, but the final touch was too much. After dispossessing Di Guglielmo, Mondesir went flying down the right flank. She curled in a long ball to Mia Fishel, who was just a step behind, which allowed MacIver to claim possession. This threat is why she was substituted in the game to begin with. “(My job) Was to try to create and try to score. We really wanted to win this game.”
Hal Hershfelt ended up reclaiming the lead for the Spirit in the 80th minute after a 30-yard shot from distance that took a bounce to beat Claudia Dickey.
Players from both sides after the match shared their anticipation of the international break plus the break for the World Cup.
“The break will be good for me to keep working on the little things,” said Spirit defender Elisabeth Tsé.
“We have qualifiers (Women’s World Cup) in November. So now I go with my team (Haiti) to Spain and prepare for the Mexico game,” said Reign FC’s Nerilia Mondesir.
The NWSL will take a break and return to action in July. The Spirit return to Audi Field on July 3 to face the Houston Dash.
-Jon Jones
Photo: Eyoel Fassil