Boyds, Md. (June 29, 2019) – The Washington Spirit suffered their first defeat in over two months in a 2-1 loss to the defending champion North Carolina Courage.
The Spirit played a strong first half highlighted by multiple highlight saves by Aubrey Bledsoe. Among them was a deflection over the bar following a well-hit shot from Merritt Mathias.
7' – @aubreybledsoe flashing the 🧤 early!#WASvNC // #SpiritFam pic.twitter.com/cJlKuBrbbt
— Washington Spirit (@WashSpirit) June 30, 2019
The Courage would break through at the end of the first half on a penalty kick in the third minute of added time at the end of the second half. Brazillian midfielder Debinia fired the ball to the left side, but Bledsoe made the initial diving save. The following rebound fell right to the feet of charging Debinha, who tucked the chance away into an empty net.
NC found the back of the net again in the 53rd minute putting the Courage up 2-0. The Spirit began to mount an impressive comeback in the second half, with many players getting quality chances. Of those chances, a cut-and-shoot opportunity from Cheyna Matthews threatened to cut the lead.
70' – @Cheynalee_ cuts it back and fires just wide from the top of the box!#WASvNC // #SpiritFam pic.twitter.com/ALseUk0qC1
— Washington Spirit (@WashSpirit) June 30, 2019
The Spirit earned their first goal on the night off an inbounds pass from Sam Staab. Defender Staab centered the ball in from the left wing to the left side of the box, finding Bayley Feist. Feist connected on a header which then found forward Crystal Thomas, who headed the ball to the lower left side of the goal and past keeper Katelyn Rowland.
The Spirit surge would continue into the final minute of action. The best chance of the match for the Spirit to equalize came from the left-foot of forward Ashley Hatch, who tested Rowland with a bending shot her right, forcing a fantastic save.
86' – @ash_hatch33 looking for the equalizer!#WASvNC // #SpiritFam pic.twitter.com/rMPzMInoO6
— Washington Spirit (@WashSpirit) June 30, 2019
However, the comeback would fall just short. The defeat marks the first Spirit loss in over two months. The franchise record unbeaten streak will stand at 69 days.
The Spirit travel south to Orlando to face the last-place Pride next Saturday with a 7:30 p.m. ET kickoff at the Orlando City Stadium.
The game will be broadcast on NBC Sports Washington. The match will also be streamed on Yahoo! Sports and Monumental Sports Network.
-NWSL Match Report-
Match: Washington Spirit vs. North Carolina Courage
Date: June 29, 2019
Venue: Maureen Hendricks Field
Kickoff: 7 p.m. ET
Weather: Low 90s, Partly Cloudy
Attendance: 3,481
Scoring Summary:
| Goals | 1 | 2 | F |
| Washington | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| North Carolina | 1 | 1 | 2 |
NCC – Debinha 45+3’
NCC – Pruitt 53’
WAS – Crystal Thomas 82’
Lineups:
WAS (4-3-3): 1-Aubrey Bledsoe; 3-Sam Staab; 14-Paige Nielsen; 23-Tori Huster; 7-Amy Harrison (57’ 13-Bayley Fiest); 4-Jordan DiBiasi; 12-Andi Sullivan (c); 8-Meggie Dougherty Howard (57’ 20-Cheyna Matthews); 33-Ashley Hatch; 6-Chloe Logarzo (67’ 31-Crystal Thomas); 19-Dorian Bailey
Unused Substitutes: 2-Arielle Ship; 30-Shae Yanez; 18-McKenzie Berryhill; 2-Arielle Ship; 24-Carlin Hudson; 21-Sammy Jo Prudhomme
NC (4-4-2): 0-Katelyn Rowland; 3-Kaleigh Kurtz; 20-Ryan Williams; 11-Merritt Mathias; 15-Jae Hinkle; 7-McCall Zerboni (c); 8-Denise O’Sullivan; 21-Cari Roccard; 9-Lynn Williams; 10-Debinha (84’ 16-Julia Spetsmark); 12-Leah Pruitt (78’ 25-Meredith Speck)
Unused Substitutes: 4-McKenzie Meehan; 27-Lauren Milliet; 31-Shannon Horgan; 37-Sam Leshnak
Stats Summary: WAS / NC
Shots: 13 / 18
Shots on Goal: 4 / 7
Saves: 5 / 3
Blocked Shots: 2 / 4
Fouls: 8 / 8
Offside: 2 / 2
Misconduct Summary:
WAS – Amy Harrison 39’ – Yellow Card
NC – McCall Zerboni 90+3’ – Yellow Card
Officials:
Referee: Danielle Chesky
Assistant Referee 1: Katarzyna Wasiak
Assistant Referee 2: Ben Pilgrim
Fourth Official: Gary Gutierrez