The Washington Spirit lost 2-1 on the road to the Kansas City Current. Forward Clara Luvanga scored her second NWSL goal in the first half before the Current scored back-to-back goals to win the match. Current midfielder Croix Bethune became the league’s all-time assist leader after notching her 11th assist this season, the most by any player in the league.
In the 12th minute, the Washington Spirit scored from a bad back pass on KC’s end. Goalkeeper Lorena put a bad touch on a back pass that created too much space between her and a pressing Clara Luvanga. After the dispossession, the Tanzanian forward struck a sure-footed goal on an empty net to take the lead.
The Current responded immediately after a goalkeeper mistake on the other end, with another goal to follow minutes later. The first came from Lo’eau LaBonta, while the game-winner came by way of Vanessa DiBernardo. After the second goal, a bigger concern was an injury to Hal Hershfelt.
“Pressing-wise, we executed how we wanted to,” said Spirit defender Esme Morgan, commenting on the team’s game plan. “It was mostly our technical actions in the first half that let us down a bit and kept us from progressing up the pitch. The second half was closer to what we wanted to do. Then it was just the final ball, the final step, to make clear chances and be clinical in those moments.”
With tonight’s loss, the Spirit have no mathematical chance of winning the NWSL Shield. The Shield is awarded to the team with the most points in the league. What they can do is prepare themselves to end the regular season on a high note and pulverize the last-place Chicago Stars when they play at Audi Field.
The last match of the NWSL regular season, like MLS, is labeled “Decision Day.” Decision Day falls on Sunday, Nov. 1 this year, and all matches will take place at the same time, 5:00 PM/ET. A win against Chicago can guarantee the Spirit play their quarterfinal match at Audi Field.
-Jon Jones
Photo: Eyoel Fassil