Spirit settle for draw on national TV in Houston

Washington Spirit  |   September 25, 2019
Spirit settle for draw on national TV in Houston Featured Image

Owen Krucoff
Washingtonspirit.com

Boyds, Md., (9/25/2019) – In the club’s first appearance as part of the NWSL’s new television deal with ESPN, the Washington Spirit played a 0-0 stalemate with the Houston Dash at BBVA Stadium on Wednesday.

Spirit goalkeeper Aubrey Bledsoe and Dash goalkeeper Jane Campbell were as advertised on the night, recording their eighth and sixth clean sheets of the season, respectively. Bledsoe made four saves while Campbell countered with three.

It wasn’t just Bledsoe, or even just the Spirit’s back line, that combined to keep Houston off the scoresheet Wednesday. As the Dash threatened to score a late winner in stoppage time, midfielder Andi Sullivan came up clutch with a headed goal line clearance.

Sullivan, Washington’s 23-year old captain, has done a bit of everything for the team this season. Along with the important save in Houston, she has also scored two goal this year and has yet to miss a minute of action through 21 games.

U.S. national team star and 21-year old forward Mallory Pugh had one of Washington’s best chances of the match, a 37th-minute shot that was blocked by Campbell. She registered a team-high two key passes in addition to her lone shot on target.

Wednesday was the Spirit’s final weeknight contest of the season. After hosting the North Carolina Courage this Saturday, the team will visit Orlando and Portland in the coming weeks to wrap up the regular season.

Saturday’s game against North Carolina will be Washington’s home finale for 2019 at the Maryland SoccerPlex. The first-place Courage, who feature four players from the USWNT’s World Cup squad, will be playing their road match of the year. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. [TICKETS]

-NWSL Match Report-

Match: Houston Dash vs Washington Spirit

Date: September 25, 2019

Venue: BBVA Stadium

Kickoff: 9:00 p.m. ET

Attendance: 5,247

Weather: Clear, low 80s

Scoring Summary:

Goals 1 2 F
Houston 0 0 0
Washington 0 0 0

 

Lineups:

HOU (4-1-4-1): 1-Jane Campbell; 9-Haley Hanson; 23-Ally Prisock; 22-Amber Brooks; 4-Allysha Chapman (80’ 25-Ariana Calderón); 7-Kealia Ohai (c) (73’ 24-Jamia Fields); 10-Christine Nairn (69’ 15-Cecelia Kizer); 19-Kristie Mewis; 13-Sophie Schmidt; 11-Sofia Huerta; 3-Rachel Daly

Unused Substitutes: 30-Bianca Henninger; 28-Cambria Privett; 20-Lindsay Agnew; 2-Ari Romero

WAS (4-3-3): 1-Aubrey Bledsoe; 14-Paige Nielsen; 3-Sam Staab; 23-Tori Huster; 17-Cali Farquharson (59’ 5-Megan Crosson); 12-Andi Sullivan (c); 6-Chloe Logarzo; 4-Jordan DiBiasi (66’ 20-Cheyna Matthews); 33-Ashley Hatch; 11-Mallory Pugh; 31-Crystal Thomas (73’ 13-Bayley Feist) 

Unused Substitutes: 10-Rose Lavelle; 30-Shae Yanez; 7-Amy Harrison; 2-Arielle Ship

Stats Summary: HOU / WAS

Shots: 14 / 13

Shots on Target: 4 / 3

Saves: 3 / 4

Blocked Shots: 4 / 3

Fouls: 7 / 8

Offside: 3 / 1

Misconduct Summary:

WAS – Sam Staab 12’ – Yellow Card

HOU – Allysha Chapman 44’ – Yellow Card

WAS – Paige Nielsen 66’ – Yellow Card

Officials:

Referee: Ekaterina Koroleva

Assistant Referee 1: Salma Perez

Assistant Referee 2: Kali Smith

Fourth Official: Andrea Jedele

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