The Washington Spirit defeated the Utah Royals 1-0 and nabbed a crucial three points on the road. Trinity Rodman scored the lone goal for the Spirit, but it was enough to seal the victory. Their goalkeeper, Sandy MacIver, earned a clean sheet in the team’s 1-0 win over the Royals.
After a lengthy weather delay, Spirit manager Adrián González led his team out in a 4-3-3 formation. He rotated through his squad, starting Élisabeth Tsé at right back and Hal Hershfelt in right midfield. This is different from Sunday’s match, where he placed Hershfelt up high in the center midfield area as a center attacker.
The attacking was plentiful to start the match, but the Spirit found a weakness in Utah’s defense. It didn’t take long before they exploited it
Trinity Rodman got her 8th goal of the season after Paige Metayer found her with a low cross from the right wing. The 28th-minute goal put the visitors ahead early.
The Royals dominated in shots (19-6), blocked shots (8-0), and corner kicks (10-5). The hosts failed to score and, with the loss to the Spirit, they now sit in third place in the NWSL standings.
The Spirit will be back in action at home this weekend to face the San Diego Wave on Sunday, Aug. 2, at 4:00 PM/ET.
-Jon Jones
Photo: Eyoel Fassil